Intellectual Property Attorney

Category: Patents

AN INTERGALACTIC INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY MINEFIELD: THE STAR WARS® BRAND (Part 4 of 4)

As iron sharpens iron, using overlapping layers of intellectual property protection can also be used to mutually strengthen existing forms of protection, and even build new rights. Here again, the TIE FIGHTER® provides a useful illustration. The U.S. PTO database shows that this three-dimensional TIE FIGHTER® registration shown above was issued under Section 2(F) of the Trademark Act. In general, trademarks must be d

AN INTERGALACTIC INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY MINEFIELD: THE STAR WARS® BRAND (Part 3 of 4)

One of the hallmarks of the STAR WARS® brand’s intellectual property portfolio is the creative use of overlapping layers of protection. As illustrated by the figure below, patents, copyrights and trademarks are not necessarily separate and distinct forms of intellectual property as many mistakenly suppose. For example, the same computer source code may be eligible for both copyright protection (vis-à-vis the expressi

AN INTERGALACTIC INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY MINEFIELD: THE STAR WARS® BRAND (Part 1 of 4)

A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away … the STAR WARS® brand became one of the most iconic and lucrative licensing franchises of all time. In negotiating during the creation of the first STAR WARS® movie, George Lucas took an impressive gamble on himself and the brand he was creating -opting for the rights to all sequels and future merchandise in exchange for less money upfront as the director. With an estimate

Capri Sun®, Shape-Trademarks and Patent Expiration

Previously, we wrote about the ongoing legal battle between Deutsche SiSi-Werke Betriebs GmbH, owners of the CAPRI SUN® brand, and Faribault Foods over Faribault’s laminated fruit juice pouches. In particular, we wrote about how SiSi-Werke’s registration for its laminated pouch trademark had become incontestable, and what impact such incontestability would have on Faribault’s ability to argue that the CAPRI SUN® bran

Grimes LLC Founder Chuck Grimes’ Career Featured In The Connecticut Law Tribune

A recent issue of The Connecticut Law Tribune featured an in-depth look at the distinctive and exciting career of Grimes LLC’s founder and Managing Partner, Chuck Grimes. The article, which appeared on July 15, 2014, highlights Chuck’s “40-plus-year career in IP law” and notes that he “has carved out a niche for himself, specializing in character licensing at his four-lawyer boutique with offices in Connecticut, M

Government Shutdown Hits U.S. Patent & Trademark Office — What’s Going On?

According to the USPTO’s website, it will be business as usual for approximately four weeks. The USPTO will rely on reserve fee collections from last year to fund its operation for the next four weeks. After that, the USPTO will reassess whether it will be able to continue operating at full capacity. The website states that in the event reserve fees run dry the USPTO would shut down except “a very small staff would c

U.S. Government Takes Baby Steps Toward Curbing Litigation By Patent Assertion Entities (Patent Trolls)

The U.S. Government is at least taking some small steps towards addressing PAEs. In a news release distributed today (September 27, 2013), the U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announced that it will seek public comments on the agency’s proposal to gather information from PAEs. Popular use of the term PAE appears to have originated with the FTC – although the definition of a PAE and what is popularly known as a pat

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