Alt Legal IP News – Issue # 168
Bri Van Til | December 10, 2019
Nostalgia
– StudioCanal is asking a judge to rule that This Is Spinal Tap was “work made for hire,” and therefore ineligible for copyright reversion.
– Can a shape—say the shape of a Rubik’s Cube—be trademarked?
– Baby Yoda does more than conjure up ’70s and ’80s nostalgia; the battle over the character highlights “the force of intellectual property rights.”
– A video game can feature various story lines that players can choose from, but creators need to avoid calling them “Choose Your Own Adventure” games.
Wait… what?
– A Danish artist sued because he couldn’t watch while a company turned his painting into timepieces.
– Update: The Supreme Court is considering the issue of whether Georgia can put its laws behind a paywall.
– There’s fiery opposition to an attempt to trademark “breakfast burrito.”
– A New York performance artist ate a $120,000 artwork: an overripe banana duct taped to the gallery wall.
Fashion!
– Nike will need to change its “Sport changes everything” campaign after a judge ruled it violates Fleet Feet’s “Change Everything” and “Running Changes Everything” trademarks.
– IP Watchdog’s Paul Vickers Storm says provisions in the STRONGER Patents Act are like an “ugly sweater” gift: thanks, but no thanks.
– Shoe store Bodega is suing Bodega Rose for selling planters shaped like shoes.
Odds and Ends
– Amazon has created a tool to identify patent-infringing products sold on its marketplace.
– Since Donald Trump first announced his candidacy in 2015, the Trump Organization has filed over 200 trademark applications. However, the Trumps are pushing to flush out the sale of hundreds goods (ranging from Trump toilets to condoms to pacemakers) in China featuring his name.
– Effective December 21st, the USPTO will require electronic submissions for trademark applications.