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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 #92

Hannah Samendinger | June 12, 2018
2 min read

Is That a Good Idea?

– Ford filed a patent application for a steering wheel that converts into a laptop holder.

– A man recently received a UK trademark registration for a character mashup of a Disney character and a world leader. He sought the registration because “he enjoys provoking major brands with his trademark applications.” He doesn’t mind provoking the IP office either.

– The La Liga app, used by Spanish fans to stream soccer matches, has been using microphones on the fans’ phones to detect unauthorized game broadcasts.

Music Men

– An artist released “This is Nigeria” weeks after the video for “This is America” was released. Is the song a parody or possible copyright infringement?

– Could Pusha T’s Drake diss track land him in court?

– After 11 years, the parties are settling in the case involving a toddler dancing to Prince in a video uploaded to YouTube.

Robots & AI

– Universal is looking to improve their theme park characters with patented AI technology.

– The USPTO Director says that a robot army of patent examiners won’t be taking over any time soon.

– Uber wants to use AI to detect whether or not a passenger is drunk before getting in the car.

 Odds and Ends

– The Velcro legal team is back with a video responding to comments from their viral “Don’t Say Velcro” campaign.

– Have the copyright wars, arguing whether authors’ or readers’ rights should be paramount, obscured other important copyright issues?

– From McSweeney’s, these are classic rock notes… from legal.

– Flag Day is June 14th, so now is a good time to read up on the rules of using flags in trademark registrations.

– IP + Pride Month: This is a great long read about the intersection of IP and gender and how the next 10 years of scholarship in the field can incorporate more feminist and queer insights.

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