Owners of copyright in characters are often well-advised not to press their claims too far in litigation at the risk of losing their rights altogether. This may be what motivated
Continue Reading Follow Up: Enola Holmes Case Settles, Leaves Unsolved Mysteries
Sherlock Holmes’s Sister Subject of Copyright Infringement Claim
A planned Netflix movie about Sherlock Holmes’s sister is the target of a lawsuit from the estate of Arthur Conan Doyle, the creator of the legendary detective. The estate has
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Ninth Circuit Rejects San Diego Comic Con Appeal
The organizers of a Salt Lake City comic convention suffered another blow in their long-running trademark battle with the organizers of the San Diego Comic-Con.
The Salt Lake event styled
Continue Reading Ninth Circuit Rejects San Diego Comic Con Appeal
Supreme Court to Decide Whether “Scandalous Clause” Passes Constitutional Muster
Just over a year ago, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit held that a century-old ban prohibiting the United States Patent and Trademark Office (PTO) from registering
Continue Reading Supreme Court to Decide Whether “Scandalous Clause” Passes Constitutional Muster
Federal Circuit Decision Leaves Lanham Act’s Provision Barring Registration of Immoral and Scandalous Marks “FUCT”
It is not often that a court of law can issue a landmark opinion laden with profanity and sexual innuendos. But last Friday,
Continue Reading Federal Circuit Decision Leaves Lanham Act’s Provision Barring Registration of Immoral and Scandalous Marks “FUCT”
Coachella Organizers Challenge Use of “Filmchella” for Film Festival
Fox associates Megan Center and Elizabeth Patton wrote a duo of posts for Fox’s advertising law blog Above the Fold examining a trademark dispute surrounding the term “Coachella.” The case
Continue Reading Coachella Organizers Challenge Use of “Filmchella” for Film Festival
San Diego Smackdown, Chapter 2: Gag Order Overturned on Appeal
I’ve blogged here and here about the pending trademark infringement case brought by SDCC, the registered owners
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San Diego Smackdown: Comic Con Trademark Fight Goes First Amendment
The stakes just raised in an imminent trial over the validity of the San Diego Comic-Con trademark. What started out as a straightforward trademark dispute has now implicated First Amendment
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Is Comic-Con the Victim of Genericide?
A federal judge in San Diego has cleared for trial a case that may strip San Diego
Continue Reading Is Comic-Con the Victim of Genericide?
Supreme Court: The Slants Keep Their Name – “Disparagement” Clause Violates the First Amendment
Charlie Nelson Keever writes:
The Supreme Court ruled this morning that a federal law that prohibits the government from registering trademarks that “disparage” others violates the First Amendment.