Author Archives: mwillee

What can be said for fast food is that, for all the franchises and chains that exist, there are only but a few options on offer, and that the distinction is in the differentiation. In that way, fast food isn’t all that different from any other industry; many make similar products, and where they getContinue reading “McDonald’s Takes Aim At Australian Chain’s “Big Jack” Burger”

It’s been a long-standing matter of contention as to the right to alter a piece of artistic work. Generally speaking, if someone is to make alterations in a manner consistent with added artistic value, they have far more leeway than might be given otherwise under intellectual property law. But what if you’re just removing thingsContinue reading “VidAngel Copyright Suit Settlement Ends “Filtering” Debate”

IP law in the creative field is meant to protect against the commercial exploitation of someone’s work by non-rightsholders, but what happens if the infringing work in question is never meant to see the light of day but gets out anyway?

What happens when a product reaches a level of ubiquity so prevalent that it becomes representative of both itself and its competitors, regardless of origin or manufacturer? Take for example Coca Cola: in certain areas of the country, “a Coke” is a catch-all term for any soft drink, even though that particular beverage is butContinue reading “Costco Wins Appeal of Trademark Case Brought By Tiffany & Co.”

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”