Alt Legal IP News – Issue # 189
Bri Van Til | May 19, 2020
A Rock and a Hard Place
– The heirs of one of the Everly Brothers aren’t clowning around: they want royalties for his alleged authorship of “Cathy’s Clown.”
– British composers and songwriters’ royalties hit nearly $1 billion last year, but they’re expected to decline this year.
– Juniper Capital and Hard Rock Hotel have reached an IP agreement that may enable the Las Vegas hotel and casino to reopen.
Elsewhere in the World
– In the recent Romag v. Fossil case, the Supreme Court found that infringers could owe damages even if their infringement wasn’t willful. However, this has long been the case in Canada.
– The Swedish Data Protection Authority has fined Google over $7 million for failure to comply with the GDPR privacy rules.
– The FBI says that Chinese hackers are targeting US coronavirus research facilities.
Get Your Learnin’ on
– Marketing your firm’s services is strange during this unique time. Come to our webinar this Thursday to hear law firm marketing expert Stefanie Marrone discuss how to convey empathy but still keep your firm afloat.
– Want to be more selective about the clients you get? Want to be the expert reporters interview when they have questions? Come hear Caroline Fox discuss how to nail your niche!
– Trial Lawyers College, a training group for attorneys, is facing a trademark row after the company split.
– WTR and Wish.com are hosting a webinar about battling counterfeits and protecting revenue during this pandemic.
Professional Concerns
– Noodle Partners is looking for a VP of legal affairs who knows how to use their noodle, and AbbVie is pharming for an IP director.
– Apple is publicly looking for privacy counsel.
– Jack Daniel’s wants a senior attorney. They didn’t specify, but you should probably make sure you know jack if you’re going to apply.
– McNees Wallace & Nurick is looking for a copyright/trademark attorney. I think we know a few of those. Tully Rinckey wants partners and a senior counsel attorney in New York.
– Have an open role on your team? Send a link to your job listing to community@altlegal.com, and we’ll publish it in our next newsletter.
Odds and Ends
– DLA Piper entertainment and media litigator Michael Garfinkel warns social media influencers to be careful about including street art in their media since it is protected by copyright.
– The Ontario Superior Court of Justice recently found that Room Full of Spoons, a documentary looking into infamous cult classic The Room, exercised fair use when using clips from the original film.
– PTAB is pausing all Arthrex-related PTAB remands until the Supreme Court weighs in on the case.
– Don’t forget to join us right after Stefanie’s webinar for our weekly virtual happy hour!