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Should States Allow Undocumented Aliens to Become Licensed Attorneys?
My answer is: “It depends.” I know, typical lawyer response, but this is a difficult issue for me on many levels and one which many states will soon be dealing with. The State of California’s Supreme...
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NY Federal Courts Divided Over Timing Of Sexual Abuse Claims
The recent outcry over Dylan Farrow’s resurgent allegations against filmmaker Woody Allen has sparked discussion about the ability to bring claims for past wrongs performed against children. This issue...
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Candy Crush: From Annoying Game to Trademark Troll in 3 Easy Steps
Having been constantly inundated with request by friends to play Candy Crush Saga on Facebook, I confess to not being a fan of the game. But I write this post as objectively as possible nevertheless....
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California Appeals Court Rules in Favor of Group Registration of Copyrights –...
The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals issued a long-awaited decision in the case of Alaska Stock v. Houghton Mifflin that favors the “compilation” or “group” registration of digital images by large photo...
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Court Rules Publisher Owns E-Book Rights Based on 1967 Contract Language
In 1971, Jean George wrote the popular children’s novel Julie of the Wolves and conveyed publishing rights to HarperCollins to publish the book in exchange for a $2,000 advance and royalty payments of...
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US Patent Office Denies Trademark Request for “RedSkin Potatoes” As...
Last month, an examining attorney for the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) has rejected a Washington State potato company’s application to trademark “Washington Redskin Potatoes,” in...
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Casino Lawsuit Against Phil Ivey Reveals World of High-Stakes Gambling
Phil Ivey calls himself the Michael Jordan of Poker and is a well-known and much-admired high stakes poker player. But now two lawsuits he is involved in may hurt his reputation and may cause him to be...
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POM v. Coca-Cola Case Gets Supremes’ Attention
While the Supreme Court this week declared the good news that racism in America is over, allowing States to ban the use of affirmative action in public universities, it was also hearing arguments in a...
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A Bench Light On Defense
Last fall, Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor spoke about the lack of diversity on the federal bench including the Supreme Court. She wasn’t talking just about the glass ceiling on women (thought...
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Federal Appeals Court Explains Significant Limits on Architecture Copyright
Architect James Zalewski had apparently seemed to do everything right. He drafted plans for his version of an American Colonial house; he filed and obtained copyright registration for the plans; when...
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First Amendment Case is Crash Course in Rap for SCOTUS
Anthony Elonis is a Pennsylvania man convicted of issuing threats to his ex-wife, who had an order of protection against him. All of the relevant threats were posted on Elonis’ Facebook page and most...
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Appeals Court Recognizes First Amendment Rights of Professor to Complain...
In case you haven’t noticed, the First Amendment has been taking a beating on college campuses. More and more schools are placing limits on what activities students and professors can engage in....
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US Court Deduces That Sherlock Holmes Is Now Public Domain
A US Federal judge has ruled that iconic literary character Sherlock Holmes and the most familiar elements of his stories are in the public domain. But what’s as important is that in a strongly...
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Spidey’s Web Tests Limits of Court Precedents
The Associated Press reported last week that The Supreme Court said it would use a patent case about a Spider-Man gadget to consider overruling a 50-year-old precedent that bars the collection of...
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Fed Ct.: State Can’t Force Docs to Show Sonograms to Abortion Clients
In a case that will likely head to the Supreme Court, the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals ( the Federal Appeals Court covering North Carolina) held that a North Carolina statute that requires...
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You Gotta Fight For Your Right To . . . Legal Fees!
To quote Kenny Rogers, “You gotta know when to hold them, know when to fold them, know when to walk away and know when to run.” Emergy drink company Monster should have heeded Kenny’s advice in the...
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“Blurred Lines” Verdict Will Blur the Lines of Copyright For Years To Come
Yesterday a federal jury awarded the Estate of Marvin Gaye $7.3 Million finding that the Robin Thicke and Pharrell Williams, songwriters of the hit song “Blurred Lines,” had infringed on the Marvin...
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FBI Report on Forensic Evidence is Horrifying
“HEADS MUST ROLL!” This should be the headline written on every newspapaer in the country about the recent report from the Justice Department about the FBI’s use of forensic hair analysis from...
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HBO Doc on “Cannibal Cop” Shows Ugly Side of Net and Law
Last night HBO debuted its intriguing documentary “Thought Crimes” focusing on the Cannibal Cop case here in NY. The trial and the show exposed a dark side of the Internet, revealing chat rooms and...
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Passive ISP Company Found to be Active Participant in Infringement
The Digital Millennium Copyright Act protects Internet Service Providers (ISPs) and other companies that merely provide a place to host content from claims of copyright and trademark infringement for...
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