SUPER HEROES: Marvel & DC’s Joint Trademark In 2006, Dan Taylor, the creator of the critically acclaimed Super Hero Happy Hour comic, announced that he had to change the name of his comic. The reason behind the change? Taylor had received a cease and desist letter from trademark attorneys for both DC and Marvel Comics, claiming they jointly owned the trademark SUPER HEROES and any variations of the word. It turns out that DC and Marvel own U.S. trademark registrations for the mark SUPER HEROES for toys (US Reg. No. 1140452 – Oct. 14, 1980) and comic books…
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Black Keys Sue Pizza Hut for Song Theft
June 28, 2012
Black Keys Sue Pizza Hut for Song Theft The Black Keys, a duo from the rock mecca of Akron, Ohio, have sued Pizza Hut for copyright infringement. The suit concerns this Pizza Hut commercial (warning: lousy audio), which allegedly contains portions of their single “Gold on the Ceiling.” Based on what I’ve been able to hear of the Pizza Hut commercial, it’s not entirely clear if the ‘Hut (people call it that, right?) uses the actual recording or if they just hired a band to make a reasonable facsimile of “Gold.” Either way, it’s probably not good news for Yum!…
University of Alabama Sacked for a Trademark Loss
June 13, 2012
A significant trademark ruling came down on Monday in University of Ala. Bd of Trustees v. New Life, Inc. The case pitted the University of Alabama, a longtime college football powerhouse, against Daniel Moore, an artist who creates and sells paintings of famous ‘Bama football plays. The University claimed that these images, such as the one to the left of this paragraph, violated their trademark rights in the distinctive ‘Bama uniform and logo. Does an artist have the right to use trademarks in his works? And what are the broader implications of the ruling?
JOBS Act: Basic Requirements
June 6, 2012
JOBS Act: Basic Requirements Last week, I wrote about the JOBS Act, discussing some of the pros and cons of crowdfunding for startup companies. In this post, I’ll go into a bit more detail about the requirements companies have to meet in order to access the world of Internet crowdfunding.
