Marketing professors across the U.S. must be chomping at the bit to discuss the self-inflicted damage Netflix has imposed on its brand in the last two months. To quickly recap, the popular DVD and streaming video service recently suffered swift consumer backlash this summer by changing its pricing plans. This morning, Netflix announced that it…
While at a meeting earlier today, I came across an item on a bookshelf that took me back to my college days at the University of Richmond – a Waffle House menu. For the uninitiated, the Waffle House is a staple of the Southern experience and a gathering place for the masses. For more background…
Last week, all pending copyright infringement lawsuits in Colorado involving copyright troll Righthaven, LLC were placed on hold by Colorado District Court Judge John Kane. Righthaven, LLC is a Nevada-based firm working principally on behalf of the Denver Post and Stephens Media, parent company of the Las Vegas Review Journal. Also last week, Buzzfeed, a…
As has been widely reported, the U.S. Justice Department moved on Friday, April 15, 2011 to seize the domains of three of the largest online poker sites: PokerStars, Full Tilt Poker, and Absolute Poker. The online gambling industry and its customers were caught off-guard. For some excellent background on the story, please read Gregory Karp’s…
Hard Drive Productions, Inc. is seeking to unmask the IP addresses 1,000 (and possibly more) individuals whom they believe downloaded and distributed copyright-protected works through bit torrent sites. Attorney John L. Steele, a Chicago divorce attorney, filed the lawsuit, Hard Drive Productions, Inc. v. Does 1-1000 (Docket No. 1:10-cv-05606), in the United States District Court…
Every Colorado business is required to file a periodic report annually with the Colorado Secretary of State’s Office. The process is quite easy and can be accomplished in a few minutes on the Colorado Secretary of State’s web site (here: http://bit.ly/eNJzcA ). The fee is $10. Quite reasonable. This morning, a colleague showed me a…
Sometimes, the trademark infringement just finds you. Upon returning home today, I found that a flyer had been wedged into my front door. This is nothing out of the ordinary. The flyer invited consumers to contact a local Denver, Colorado number and speak with a marketing firm about the stores where the consumer shops. Those…
The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals recently issued its decision in DSPT International, Inc. v. Lucky Nahum, a case that examined the scope of the Anticybersquatting Consumer Protection Act. The Ninth Circuit’s opinion in this case should matter to anyone who outsources their website design or engages in search engine optimization (SEO). DSPT, the Plaintiff,…
Implementing Twitter into the solo attorney’s trademark, copyright, and Internet law practice.
Balancing branding and trademark law concerns when selecting a descriptive name for your business or product.
