Author Archives: mwillee

You could be forgiven for thinking that the biggest thing going for the surname Hamilton is the Lin-Manuel Miranda-penned musical, a blockbuster of both stage (back when theaters were open) and screen (via a release on Disney+). But that would be a myopic view of both the world and pop culture, one that excludes theContinue reading “F1 Driver Lewis Hamilton Loses Trademark Appeal in EU Court”

Most people intuit that advertising is some mix of fact and fiction; not lies per se, but perhaps a burnished version of the truth. Rare is the product that actually changes our life (although, fingers crossed) and that knowledge is baked into our reading or viewing of advertisements. We look past the embellishment to tryContinue reading “Oatly Misses Out On Trademark for Obvious Claim”

If you’ll forgive visiting once more with a frequent topic of this blog, we have to talk yet again about the DMCA. Specifically, about the ability of seemingly any company to use the DMCA for other than what it was ostensibly created, which is to protect copyright on the internet. We’ve seen the fruits ofContinue reading “Online Anti-Cheating Tool Proctorio Uses DMCA TO Silence Critics”

At the risk of sounding glib, has any company fared better during the pandemic relative to its prospects otherwise than Zoom? Amazon has done well, sure, but Amazon will always do well. Zoom, on the other hand, has gone from useful to vital in a period of months, and probably more accurately in a periodContinue reading “Zapier and Zoom In Trademark Scuffle Over Zaps”

There is broad philosophical debate, dating back to the dawn of the advent of tools and other implements manipulated by humans, as to freedom and agency as it regards their use. Plenty of tools are designed to be used for the betterment of the species, and are far more frequently used as such, but canContinue reading “RIAA Makes DMCA Claims Against Github Over Video Download Software”

It’s become fairly evident over the past several years that, given enough time, every show you ever loved will return in some fashion, whether that be as a sequel featuring a far-older cast than you remember, or as a rebooted property for a new generation to enjoy, or at least watch. Perhaps it’s a mixContinue reading “TV Reboot Draws Copyright Claim From Original Writer”

What makes laws work, or at least what should, is that they are or are at least meant to be prescriptive. Violators should know what they did, and what the punishment for the violation should be, in order that they not offend again. Short of that, the system falls apart; people continue to violate theContinue reading “Twitch Offer No Explanation To Users For DMCA Takedowns”

The advent of modern fandom has perhaps blurred the lines of IP ownership, at least in the minds of fans. I don’t mean to suggest that die-hards are under any apprehension that they hold the legal rights to any aspect of the properties they love so dearly; rather, it’s a type of spiritual ownership thatContinue reading “Nintendo Shuts Down Fan-Made Zelda Game on Copyright Grounds”

Trademark opposition seems to be the new “it” thing for major companies; more accurately, opposition that would be termed to be in bad faith is the new hot trend in the IP space. You need not look very far back in the archives of this blog to see a spate of similar stories, and whileContinue reading “Rockstar Games Throws Trademark Opposition at Ax Throwing Business”

Most images on the internet get passed around about a half-dozen times before they end up on our screens, so when we hear that copyright can be a challenging issue in the age of social media, it’s fair to say that the case is being understated. How exactly to fix it is a big questionContinue reading “Photographer’s Copyright Case Against Tennis Website Misses The Mark”