In times of crisis, it’s restorative to see the better angels of our nature win out over our baser instincts of fear and panic. It doesn’t happen in every case — indeed, it probably doesn’t happen as much as we’d like or hope — but there are those who choose acts of kindness and a consideration for the common good ahead of the other incentives that otherwise drive American society in particular, for good and ill.
Continue reading “Patent Troll Owned By SoftBank Sues COVID-19 Test Creators”
Copyright doesn’t last forever, or at least it’s not meant to; by the letter of the law, it runs through the life of the creator plus some length of time thereafter, ranging up to 120 years depending on the nature of the work and the period of time it was created, as well as whether it was previously protected under existing copyright law at the time. If you’re looking for an informative, of somewhat confusing, read, you can check out the full document on copyright duration provided by the U. S. Copyright Office.
Continue reading ““This Land Is Your Land” Retains Copyright Protection, Remains Private Property”
Because there’s nothing so bad that it can’t be made worse by profoundly flawed human nature and no crisis can go unexploited, we submit another chapter in the growing volume of people looking to get ahead while the world plunges into panic.
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Great advances in technological innovation can make us marvel at where we are as a society and what’s possible, but it’s to the losers of the tech race to remind us that advances don’t necessarily bring everyone along. Just as the horse and buggy was left in the dust by the advent of the automobile (almost quite literally), we now see that same obsolescence now, only more frequently and on an accelerated timeline. A quick look around the house probably reveals some device that was once a huge leap forward and now is on its way out, if not entirely outmoded already.
Continue reading “Netflix Sued by Broadcom Over Alleged Patent Infringement”
The idea that much of what is considered innovative or revolutionary may actually simply built upon a foundation of borrowed or stolen ideas is not a new one, but it’s one that gets trotted out a lot in this century. The usual sequence of events dictates that a company gets big off a great new idea, another company pops up to content that new idea isn’t in fact new and is their old idea stolen and re-purposed, and the matter goes to court to be settled months or years down the line. Our cynicism jades our view and begs the question: Is this company taking legal action now because the success brought the infringement to light, or because the success offers an opportunity to cash in? It’s unfair to the businesses duly wronged, sure, but there are enough cases to suggest there’s something to the latter view — enough to raise questions about every case you come across.
Continue reading “Quibi Accused of Patent Infringement Ahead of Launch”
Music copyright has proven to be a tricky topic in recent years, given how readily available music is at present paired with the ability to take on alleged infringement, both through YouTube and in the courts. (Not that any court case would ever be considered easy.) The exponential growth in copyright cases within music is a matter of some debate and contention; some believe in the absolute ability of creators to protect their work from infringement, while others argue that influence and sampling are simply part of the art form, and that to take those away is to remove the ability for new artists to build upon what others have done, as they have for decades, if not centuries. It’s not an argument that looks to be resolved anytime soon, although one ambitious musician is seeking to short-circuit the issue entirely.
Continue reading “Musician Tries To Fix Copyright By Copyrighting All The Melodies”
It’s become commonplace for big companies to target smaller businesses with trademark or copyright complaints over what could be termed marginal cases, if we’re being generous. It’s easy enough for the big companies to do — most have the budget for considerable in-house or outside counsel to pursue such cases, and there’s no penalty for their aggressiveness; the worst that can happen is that they lose the case, at which point things return to the status quo ante.
Continue reading “Comedian Changes Name to Protest Trademark Misuse”
There are no shortage of new problems technology has introduced into the world, but notionally there are some things that should be exempted from that principle, and for many young people, video games is front of mind as an example. The internet and smartphones may provide new ways to spy on us or hack our personal information along with their provided benefits, but there would seem to be little downside to the exponential improvement in video games over the course of this century. The load faster and look better than ever before, and with hundreds of millions of dollars poured into hardware and game development, we start to approach something like verisimilitude — which might be a problem, in some cases.
Continue reading “NBA2K Makers Win Summary Judgment in Copyright Case”
Given that the current moment we’re living through, in which the coronavirus dominates every aspect of our lives, has been both recent and sudden and also seemingly eternal, it’s both shocking and not at all surprising to see the amount of COVID-19 -related malfeasance and opportunism that has been unearthed. Bad actors are to be expected, even in a crisis (or perhaps especially in a crisis) but the speed with which the trademark applicants and patent trolls have made their plays would be impressive were it not so depressing.
Continue reading “Coronavirus Trademark Scams Pose Risk for Businesses and Consumers Alike”
Now more than ever we are made aware of our reliance upon Amazon in providing us with what we want and need, and for the duration of our current crisis questions about wages and hours for warehouse workers or the sheer dominance of the online retailer and whether that’s good for anybody but Amazon become secondary to the urgent demand to get things without having to leave our homes. Seamless ordering and touchless delivery are vital at the moment, and Amazon has perfected the process of letting people order just about anything over the past decade. Who’s actually providing those goods is another question, and it’s at the center of a recent trademark case.
Continue reading “Amazon Wins Trademark Duspute Over Third Party Infringement”