This is a guest blog from John Boruvka of Iron Mountain’s Intellectual Property Management unit, originally featured on the Iron Mountain blog. 

Continue reading “Intellectual Property 101: How To Leverage Intangible Value”

The internet can seem at times a terrible, negative place, but it can also be a tremendous resource for collaboration and sharing. People the world over are willing to take the time and effort to create fantastic works of art, photography and video, and many are willing to share them with everyone with no desire for compensation. Others ask simply that users attribute the material they use and follow a licensing agreement. While that may not seem a particularly onerous requirement for the free use of others’ works, many companies and individuals still manage to get themselves in trouble by not reading those agreements. 

Continue reading “Italian Festival In Trouble for Improper Attribution”

There’s a lot that goes into starting a business. Aside from obvious considerations as to what you’re going to do or make or sell, you have to think about the branding of your business. What are you going to call yourself? What kind of logo will you have? It isn’t enough to settle on the first name that you think of, because unless you are absolutely certain as to its originality and uniqueness, there’s a good chance you run the risk of infringing upon someone else’s already established trademark.

Continue reading “Expansion Franchise Runs Into Trademark Issues in Las Vegas”

When we purchase something, we assume that the item becomes ours, to do with it as we so choose. That is the understanding and agreement that exists between buyer and seller in most transactions that take place. If you go to your local department store and buy a toaster and decide to run over it with your car in the driveway, that’s your prerogative; the store certainly doesn’t care, as they’ve achieved their goal of moving merchandise and collecting your money. But the digital age has ushered in a new type of product that now comes with rights and safeguards that go beyond the point of sale.  

Continue reading “Electronic Freedom Foundation Goes to Court Over Digital Millenium Copyright Act”

This blog originally appeared on Attorney at Work.

Continue reading “Measuring Value Beyond the Billable Hour”

Most who have been following the buildup to this summer’s Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil are aware of the growing number of issues facing this year’s Games. By various reports, the housing is sub-standard, the water polluted, and the venues possibly not finished being built. Add to that the number of athletes pulling out over concerns about the Zika virus, and one would suspect organizers are struggling to put a positive spin on this year’s proceedings, and would welcome as much positive attention as they can get. However, the U.S. Olympic Committee would not share that sort of generosity.

Continue reading “Olympics Add Trademark Gripes to List of Problems”

Technology has given us more access to available information and an incredible ability to disseminate our own messages. The internet allows us to see stories and pictures and videos from all over the world from the comfort of our devices, and the phone in our pocket can capture our experiences with high quality pictures and videos. And while the ability to find and share content on a global level is definitely a net positive, it can present its own challenges for creators and entrepreneurs.

Continue reading “Intellectual Property and the Challenges of Technology”

Even when you’ve taken the necessary precautions to try and prevent theft, there are still going to be those who try and use your work, thinking that they won’t get caught given the sheer size of the internet. Having your website’s artwork or copy copied at a computer somewhere in the world isn’t quite as simple as seeing someone on your stolen bike at the local 7-11. That’s why part of intellectual property protection is vigilance. Unfortunately, there isn’t an internet equivalent of police cars roaming to deter theft. It may seem like a chore, but taking time to dome some internet searches can help catch thieves that may have otherwise gone unnoticed.

Continue reading “Intellectual Property and the Challenges of Technology, Part 2”

Registering your trademarks provides creators with a number of different benefits, chief among those being the ability to take legal action against potential infringement.  And given the amount of theft that is seen surrounding trademarked material, that’s nothing to be taken lightly. But one unconsidered benefit to having your trademarks on the books with the federal government is the ability to stop your content from spreading around social media without your consent. 

Continue reading “Social Media Offers  Limited Remedies for Trademark Infringement”

For several years, Stephen Colbert occupied a unique and arguably necessary spot in our popular culture. While his fellow Comedy Central late night host Jon Stewart mixed his comedy with earnest, solemn rebukes of perceived shortcomings and failures of our political system, Colbert’s critiques came from satire as he played his over-the-top, blowhard newsman character to the hilt. His persona was immediately recognizable to anyone who has seen cable news over the past fifteen years, and the audience was in on the joke; no one truly believed that the real Stephen Colbert bore any resemblance to the “Stephen Colbert” who turned up on our televisions. 

Continue reading “Stephen Colbert in Intellectual Property Dispute with Viacom”