Author Archives: mwillee

When reality becomes stranger than fiction, one would think that scripted television would tend to suffer. Reading about the creation of the Space Force certainly felt like living inside fiction when the news broke a couple years ago, and so when the announcement of a TV show of the same name came later, it wasContinue reading “Netflix’s Space Force is Winning The Trademark Race”

The crisis caused by the coronavirus has given rise to a wave of goodwill gestures form companies looking to help people throughout tough times. Whether it’s out of genuine communal spirit or a desire for good will, brands have made an effort to both donate money and make available products for free in order toContinue reading “Internet Archive Facing Copyright Lawsuit Over Unauthorized Lending”

Change can seem fitful, if not absent entirely, particularly in light of recent events, but it’s still doing its work in society — not always quickly, and often not in the areas in which it’s most needed, but things do change. Take cannabis: once the scourge of parents and authority figures everywhere, it’s now notContinue reading “The Cannabis Industry Is Moving Into Patents”

In the midst of the pandemic lockdown, artists and musicians have turned to virtual means of staying connected to fans and audiences, as much for their sake as ours. It’s a trite observation given the real challenges they face, but performers do survive on the attention that we’re able to give them, and the moneyContinue reading “Even In A Pandemic, Copyright Bots Don’t Rest (Or Learn)”

We’ve all probably experienced the phenomenon of cascading bad luck, wherein misfortune piles upon itself until we feel that fate has conspired against us. The alarm doesn’t go off, the car won’t start, work projects go awry —eventually we feel like kindred spirits with Job. But however bad our toughest periods might have been, weContinue reading “TikTok Faces Copyright Lawsuit As Woes Mount”

I’ve written previously about the relatively recent problem of video games reproducing real-life products and places and the potential for trademark infringement, at least in the minds of those companies who find their products in games that seek to replicate facsimile of the world as we know it. Not every game seeks to do that,Continue reading “Fortnite Creators Sued For Trademark Infringement Over Map”

Among the many benefits that the proliferation of the internet and search engines have provided, finding song lyrics wouldn’t rank among the most important, but it would certainly be a more popular use than, say, looking up academic papers for school work. And it’s an underrated benefit; for years prior, you had to rely onContinue reading “Google Saved In Genius Lawsuit By Copyright Considerations”

Innovation is what spurs tech companies to the top of the proverbial pile, but, once there, some seem to lose that innovative spirit, relying instead upon their accrued power to stay atop the marketplace. Instead of coming up with new ideas, it’s easier to simply buy up the innovative companies out there, or perhaps justContinue reading “Instagram Facing Trademark Lawsuit Over New Reels Feature”

What right does any company have over names that are similar only due to that company’s sheer size and ubiquity? It’s true that certain brands can be evoked not only by their name and logo, but by an entire subcategory of similar designs and conventions, but should that be the case, from a legal perspective?Continue reading “Prepear’s Fortunes Go Pear-Shaped With Apple Trademark Objections”

In cases of infringement, intent is irrelevant to the substantive facts of a case. Either something infringes upon a copyright or trademark or patent, or it doesn’t; whether the accused meant to do it or not changes nothing. Still, it probably matters to our ideas about justice and recompense as to whether intent existed orContinue reading “Taylor Swift Alters Logo to Avoid Trademark Infringement”