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Alt Legal Blog

Your source for news, updates and guidance on all things trademarks and intellectual property.

Alt Legal IP News – Issue #214

Bri Van Til | November 11, 2020
2 min read

45 and 46

– Here are two different analyses of what Biden’s presidency could mean for IP: take one and take two.

What was President Trump’s trademark legacy?

– It looks like the 2020 election was not the only thing President Trump lost in the past week.

What policies should President-elect Biden be considering to challenge China on Intellectual Property?

– Here are some trademark lessons to be learned from President Trump’s Four Seasons press conference debacle.

The Bounds of Copyright

Do big tech companies have imbalanced views of copyrights, and, if so, how do those views impact creators?

– A group opposing funding cuts to Doane University created a website to protest the changes, but the site was taken down for alleged copyright infringement.

– What rights do copyright holders have, and what are the boundaries of a public domain license?

– A proctoring software company allegedly used a DMCA takedown to remove the social media posts of a student who complained about the software’s invasion of privacy.

– A Utah judge has rejected requests for substantial damages in several recent copyright infringement cases.

Treat Yo’self

– The US Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit must’ve thought cookie company Pocky’s trade dress infringement case against its competitor was crumby: it found no infringement.

– In case you missed out on Seth Gardenswartz’s great talk about trademark protection for craft beers and brewers, check out the recording here! It’d be brewed of you to miss it.

– In 2018, Elon Musk joked about releasing a $250 bottle of Tequila, but TESLAQUILA got its notice of allowance last month, and the product is now sold out.

Professional Concerns

– The USPTO is seeking a Deputy Commissioner for Trademark Operations.

– If the law comes naturally to you, maybe you can cut it as an IP attorney for Intuitive Surgical.

– Back in my day, Sony, we didn’t have managers for content protection.

– Jazz up your work life by being senior counsel here.

– Taft Stettinius & Hollister needs a taftful IP docketing specialist.

– If you’re interested in presenting at Alt Legal Connect 2021 or as part of our ongoing Alt Legal Community webinar series, we’d love to hear from you!

– 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

– The USPTO has issued guidance on how it will apply the findings from the Booking.com case. For more information about the Booking.com case, check out this past webinar.

The USPTO is proposing removing attorney emails from trademark filing records, which we’re concerned would, among other things, significantly complicate attorneys’ ability to communicate with one another to resolve issues.

– A new Amazon patent will group together “toxic” players so that they don’t interfere with the game play of others. Can we get this tech in real life too?

– Members of Nirvana’s legal team are likely not smiling right now after Marc Jacobs International filed a motion for summary judgment claiming the band does not have sufficient copyright or trademark rights to the smiley face in question in the ongoing suit.

How can the patent system be made more inclusive?

– Thank you to all the speakers, sponsors, and attendees who made Alt Legal Connect 2020 so amazing. If you missed out, you can purchase recordings here. To ensure you don’t miss out on Alt Legal Connect 2021, buy your ticket now! Use the code “newsletter” for a discount.

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