Alt Legal IP News – Issue #15
Hannah Samendinger | November 29, 2016
You can now subscribe to our podcast, Alt Trademarks, on iTunes and Google Play.
More Copyright, More Infringement
– Any copyright holder can submit a DMCA takedown notice to Google. How many were submitted in the past 12 months? Over a billion.
– A proposed UK law threatens to wreck havoc on the replica design furniture industry.
– Could you “gamify” copyright infringement detection?
Those Things Will Rot Your Teeth
– KitKat lost another battle over the distinctiveness of the shape of their candy bar.
– Splenda is taking Dunkin’ Donuts to court over lookalike sweeteners.
– Need to brush that sugar off? Dyson might be developing a new super toothbrush. Check out the patent here.
Take it to the Top
– The UK announced that they will ratify the Unified Patent Court Agreement despite Brexit.
– Frozen food retailer Iceland is set to meet with the Icelandic government about their trademark.
– Two of the top global entertainment and TV providers are licensing their IP to each other.
Odds and Ends
– Instagram is opposing a Microsoft trademark, claiming the rights to “gram” as a suffix. They aren’t the first company to claim rights in a prefix or suffix, as some of Facebook’s TTAB disputes highlight.
– Remember the Slants case? The ABA has filed an amicus brief seeking to correct principles of trademark law that they believe the court of appeals got wrong.
– The Fashion Law blog poses an interesting question- Are there benefits to the practice of knockoffs?