Alt Legal IP News – Issue #28
Hannah Samendinger | March 07, 2017
You can now subscribe to our podcast, Alt Trademarks, on iTunes and Google Play. Our latest episode features Autumn Witt Boyd of The Law Office of Autumn Witt Boyd. We discuss starting a virtual solo practice and offering legal services to creative businesses.
All Kinds of Attorneys
– There are some names that pop up in IP over and over and over again. Here are the frequent filers to watch in 2017.
– The USPTO suspended a former Niro IP attorney for 18 months for patent litigation sanctions.
– While trademarks are intended to protect a brand, the owners of those trademarks occasionally become overprotective (which isn’t a great PR strategy).
– Adidas is very protective of their 3 stripe branding, so much so that in their complaint, Forever 21 said, “enough is enough.”
– What happens when you put your legal career on hold to go on a reality dating show?
The Fun Stuff
– Behind every great pastry invention, there’s a great lawyer.
– A trademark application was filed for one of the defining smells of many people’s childhood, Play-Doh.
– Japan just granted their first two trademarks for color palettes, one for an eraser and one for a convenience store.
Church, Government, and the Internet
– The UKIPO is speaking up against criticism to their recently proposed copyright bill.
– CIPO issued a massive amount in damages in their first major case involving the circumvention of technological protection measures.
– The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is claiming copyright infringement over content published by MormonLeaks.
– Being a YouTuber can come with high costs.
A Touch of Tech
– Apple and Google have an astounding number of patents between them. This infographichighlights the differences in their inventors.
– The Apple Terms and Conditions got a comical makeover. Maybe now people will actually read them.
– IBM received a patent for the out-of-office email response but promptly promised they won’t be enforcing it.
– 3D printing poses some interesting challenges in protecting IP.
– Nike recently announced a performance hijab for Muslim women athletes. There also is aforeign patent pending for a hijab that works with headphones and stethoscopes.
Odds and Ends
– The ACLU made some edits to the President’s Executive Order on immigration.
– The Indian IP Office flagged 25,000 filed applications as incomplete. There have also been several other recent changes to the Indian IP rules.
– What are the benefits of having a machine as a judge?