The IPKat BLOG – Page 220

In: The IPKat BLOG

The Ninth Circuit rules that The Moodsters characters are ineligible for copyright protection, denies panel and en banc rehearings: Daniels v. Walt Disney Company

http://ipkitten.blogspot.com/2020/05/the-ninth-circuit-rules-that-moodsters.html This Kat has a toy character protected by copyright “Dart eyes Godzilla” by LilithSativa Although U.S. copyright protection extends only to original works of creative expression, sufficiently distinctive elements – such as the characters in a fictional work – may be protected by... Continue reading
In: The IPKat BLOG

Fashion Law London: The Virtual Fashion Law Update

http://ipkitten.blogspot.com/2020/05/fashion-law-london-virtual-fashion-law.html Quarantine-mandated attire or deliberate fashion choice? At a time when ‘social’ – or, rather, physical – distancing has become a given, ‘non-essential’ shops have been and in several countries are still closed, and no events can be held in person, here is a series of webinars organised by Fashion... Continue reading
In: The IPKat BLOG

Want to understand goodwill? Ask the cat, dog, rat and rabbit

http://ipkitten.blogspot.com/2020/05/want-to-understand-goodwill-ask-cat-dog.html An unanticipated outcome of this Kat’s lockdown experience has been a reappreciation for the local stores on high street and how they come to enjoy goodwill. Somehow, considering the goodwill of Walmart or Apple is not the same as talking about the goodwill of a neighborhood store. “Okay, Kat,... Continue reading
In: The IPKat BLOG

Sunday Surprises

http://ipkitten.blogspot.com/2020/05/sunday-surprises.html Summer moves on Webinars The second session of the FIDE (Legal and Business Research Foundation) and TIPSA (Transatlantic Intellectual Property Academy) Global Digital Encounters is scheduled for 28 May. After a successful first encounter, dedicated to the challenges of the IP system in a post-crisis environment, this second session... Continue reading
In: The IPKat BLOG

Around the IP Blogs

http://ipkitten.blogspot.com/2020/05/around-ip-blogs_23.html In the mood for a run? Well, let me take you for a run around the IP blog… Patents Dreaming about the day that I can play golf again… The antiviral drug, remdesivir, has emerged as the new standard of care for COVID-19 patients. Written Descriptionlooked at the innovation... Continue reading
In: The IPKat BLOG

Never Too Late: if you missed the IPKat last week

http://ipkitten.blogspot.com/2020/05/never-too-late-if-you-missed-ipkat-last_22.html This Kat is inspired by nature If you’ve been too busy (or perhaps, like this Dublin Kat, spent a little too much time in the rare May sun) to keep abreast of the latest IPKat posts, read on for the latest digest. CopyrightGuestKat Léon Dijkman provided a commentary on a... Continue reading
In: The IPKat BLOG

BREAKING: US Copyright Office finds current safe harbor system ‘unbalanced’ and ‘out of sync with Congress’ original intent’

http://ipkitten.blogspot.com/2020/05/breaking-us-copyright-office-finds.html Today, the US Copyright Office released its much-awaited Report on Section 512 of the US Copyright Act, which was enacted in 1998 as part of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act and introduced the so called ‘safe harbor’ system into US law. As readers following all things intermediaries will know,... Continue reading
In: The IPKat BLOG

Privacy rights and social media: can a person be prohibited from sharing online a picture of her grandson?

http://ipkitten.blogspot.com/2020/05/privacy-rights-and-social-media-can.html From recreation of famous paintings using household materials to baking sourdough breads with home-made starters: the lockdown has prompted many of us to explore new hobbies. So, too, this Kat. The curiosity spread to the legal domain, and I was grateful to do some reading on issues outside my... Continue reading
In: The IPKat BLOG

Bad faith grounds for invalidating EUTM containing Chinese characters

http://ipkitten.blogspot.com/2020/05/bad-faith-grounds-for-invalidating-eutm.html Kat friend Matej Michalec discusses a decision by EUIPO’s Cancellation Division, regarding bad faith in an invalidation action involving Chinese character marks, which merits particular attention. The famous Chinese writer Lu Xun is said to had expressed the view that “either the Chinese characters are abolished, or China perishes“.... Continue reading
In: The IPKat BLOG

Milan court rules against Antonio Marras over unauthorized use of howling wolf photograph

http://ipkitten.blogspot.com/2020/05/milan-court-rules-against-antonio.html Last month, the Milan Court of First Instance issued a decision (sentenza 2539/2020, available on darts-ip and already commented here) concerning the alleged infringement, by fashion house Antonio Marras, of copyright (both economic and moral rights) in the photograph below, which the latter had used without the photographer’s authorization... Continue reading