Author Archives: mwillee

There are few things that can make us take leave of our senses more readily than sports, and when combined with parochialism and a provincial mindset, a certain mania is loosed within the minds of otherwise sane people. In fans, it leads to tattoos, to drunken parking lot fistfights with opposing fans, to shelling outContinue reading “Ohio State University Leans Into Reputation, Files for “The” Trademark”

We’ve all spent enough time on the internet to have seen our share of hoaxes over the years. Maybe we’ve fallen prey to one or two, although we’d never admit it in public, and maybe not ever to ourselves. P.T. Barnum’s dictum of ” a sucker born every minute” applies to those other folks sharingContinue reading “A Copyright Hoax Runs Wild”

There are few hings more totemically American, at least in origin, as McDonald’s. The arches. The colors. The menu items. The subsequent guilt and shame that come with each meal. It’s a brand that’s been built over decades, and one that serves as the foundation of what we know as fast food today. What weContinue reading “McDonald’s Trademark Battle in Ireland”

There’s no greater harbinger of potential legal issues than success. In a reading more generous to plaintiffs in the scores of lawsuits that pop up around successful artists, creators and businesses, you could assert that it’s the success that brings the infringement to light; the aggrieved doesn’t know they’ve had their idea infringed upon untilContinue reading “Lady Gaga Facing Copyright Claims For “Shallow””

As ephemeral and inconsequential as they many seem, GIFs are now an important part of the broader cultural conversation around TV or movies, all of which takes place on the internet, where GIFs are the lingua franca of the medium. It’s how fans create a shorthand with one another, and it’s also how shows andContinue reading ““Baby Yoda” GIFs Removed Over Copyright Concerns, Then Quickly Restored, Ending National Nightmare”

For observers of such things, there’s nothing quite so confusing or maddening as the minds that make up the minds of the U.S. federal court system on matters of intellectual property law. (Though that feeling undoubtedly spreads to other areas, depending on your interests.) Although it’s the nature of the beast that not every decisionContinue reading “Copyright Case Against Taylor Swift Heads Back to District Court”

If there’s one thing that I hope regular readers have noted, it’s that I enjoy a story about the unintended consequences of decisions and actions. Perhaps enjoy is too strong; I highlight them to hopefully serve as an example of the perils of not fully thinking through one’s choices, perhaps as a way to justifyContinue reading “A Music Streaming Service on the Blockchain? What Could Go Wrong?”

To what extent can creators be held responsible for the ways in which their creations are used, particularly if those uses fall outside of what is legal or ethical? It’s a worthwhile question to consider these days. We’ve more technology in our hands —quite literally in the case of smartphones— than could have been dreamtContinue reading “A Google Play Copyright Case: When Can We Blame Tools For How They’re Used?”

A common theme in this space, and many others like it, is the law as a weapon as much as a shield. Laws exist in theory to protect us, sure, but we’re all eventually indoctrinated into the idea that laws also exist to protect the more powerful against challenge or consequence. There’s a reason thatContinue reading “Monster Energy Pushes Trademark Case Against Small Root Beer Maker”

It’s true of most new things that it takes a while for the problems and kinks to get worked out. It tends to be particularly true when something has exploded overnight, as is wont to happen from time to time with new technologies and platforms. The benefits, the appeal are evident to everyone involved, butContinue reading “TikTok to be Investigated for Copyright Theft?”