Alt Legal IP News – Issue # 198
Bri Van Til | July 22, 2020
The Latest Technology
– Google and The Linux Foundation recently announced an initiative to help open source manage their trademarks, but competitors are upset about the “imbalance of control.”
– The relationship between cryptocurrency and intellectual property is complicated; some are chomping at the bit(coin) to claim IP protection, though.
– Apple’s recent patents suggest that it will launch a 5G iPhone soon.
– For information about the latest tech you can use to streamline your practice, come to Niki Black’s talk at Alt Legal Connect in October. Sign up now, and use the code “newsletter” for a discount!
Perfecting Your Practice
– No trademark attorney is immune to office actions. Join Alt Legal and trademark attorney Rachel Brenke for “Office Actions, Rejections, and Pivoting, Oh My!” The webinar offers a detailed explanation of how to respond to office actions and how/when to pivot strategies.
– The Supreme Court chose not to overturn the Fresenius/Simmons preclusion principle, so it’s still a thing.
– Here’s a four-part series on patent demand letters. Trademark attorneys, don’t be jealous; you get letters, too: here’s an explanation of letters of protest.
– Take a principaled approach to trademarks: learn more about the principal vs. supplemental registries.
The Washington Football Team
– Martin McCaulay, a huge fan of the Washington football team, says he’s faced significant backlash for filing trademark applications for potential rebranding names.
– McCaulay has reportedly offered the trademarks to the team for free, however, and denied that he ever intended to use the trademarks as a shakedown.
– McCaulay’s attorney, Darren Heitner, explains why he chose to represent the now infamous filer.
Professional Concerns
– We still have a few seats remaining for Shivani Honwad’s Roundtable Discussion, “Non-traditional Networking.” Come talk about how to network effectively, especially in this socially isolating time.
– Did you yet see that Etsy is looking for senior counsel?
– This media company is looking for senior legal counsel candidates who can outFox the competition.
– Did all the IP paralegals in the USC that this university is hiring?
– Hulu you think might be content to be counsel here? Could be great!
– 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
– By remanding to the Fourth Circuit the attorney fee issue in the Booking.com case, the Supreme Court appears to affirm the Nantkwest decision.
– TTAB says that people are unlikely to confuse a wedding planning company with Beyoncé and Jay-Z’s child, so BLUE IVY CARTER can proceed.
– The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals is allowing new evidence and expert testimony in the copyright infringement case involving The Shape of Water.
– Thank you to the hundreds of you have joined us in recent months for our new webinar series. In case you missed any, you can see all of them here.
– What IP protection is available for internet quizzes? A. trademarks, B. patents, C. copyrights, D. Kylie Jenner