Free Legal Tips | The David Lizerbram & Associates Blog

Podcaster Hit With Copyright Lawsuit for Unlicensed Music

January 9, 2019

I’ve been writing and speaking for several years about the likelihood of lawsuits concerning unlicensed music in podcasts. See, for example, my 2015 blog post “Can I Play Music On My Podcast?” Spoiler Alert: The answer is “no, unless you have the proper licenses.” Recently, a podcaster was sued for copyright infringement for doing exactly that – playing popular music on a podcast without the appropriate license. To my knowledge, this is the first time that this has been the subject of a lawsuit, but I doubt it will be the last. Universal Music Group (“UMG”), one of the world’s…

Disney Character Knockoffs – Legal or Not?

December 12, 2018

Disney character knockoffs come a dime a dozen, but are they legal? A recent ruling took on this issue. In the spring of 2016, Disney Enterprises, Inc. and its affiliated entities sued a small party services business called Characters for Hire (“CFH”) for presenting Disney character knockoffs to the public. The entertainment conglomerate alleged that CFH violated its copyright and trademark rights. But the plaintiff was up to the challenge. Disney—along with subsidiaries Marvel Characters, Inc., Lucas Film Ltd., LLC, and Lucas Entertainment Company Ltd., LLC (collectively, “Disney”)—moved for summary judgment, meaning a ruling from the civil court judge without…

5 Things to Consider When Drafting a Standard Privacy Policy

December 5, 2018

If your business maintains a website, chances are it’s legally required to contain and disclose a standard privacy policy. While there is no single federal law protecting consumer data, several laws (such as the Computer Fraud & Abuse Act) require a standard privacy policy if your website collects, or has the ability to collect, any personally identifying information (PII) about website visitors. Data has become a commodity that’s worth a lot of money to marketers, advertisers, and businesses. As far as the law is concerned, if you’re going to collect (and possibly sell) PII, the people you’re collecting it from…

ASK DAVID: What’s the Controversy Over the Aloha Poke Trademark?

November 14, 2018

A Chicago-based restaurant chain serving poke, a Hawaiian dish of raw fish and rice, recently faced a branding controversy over its ALOHA POKE® trademark. Since obtaining the trademark in 2016, the owners of Aloha Poke Co. sent a cease and desist letter—a legal notice directing another party to cease an activity—to several businesses with similar names nationwide. Several of them happened to be native Hawaiian-owned companies. Aloha Poke Co. sought to stop others from using the specific phrase ALOHA POKE for business purposes, citing trademark infringement. However, the situation boiled over in 2018 with activists and a Hawaii state representative…

(800) 594-4480

Keep it Legal Blog

Podcaster Hit With Copyright Lawsuit for Unlicensed Music

January 9, 2019

Disney Character Knockoffs – Legal or Not?

December 12, 2018

5 Things to Consider When Drafting a Standard Privacy Policy

December 5, 2018

ASK DAVID: What’s the Controversy Over the Aloha Poke Trademark?

November 14, 2018

Want to receive all the latest updates? Contact me today

ABOUT

CONTACT

(800) 594-4480

CONNECT