The FIFA World Cup is starting today and while many fans are eager to watch the first match between Brazil and Croatia, behind the scenes is an entanglement of intellectual property issues. The Federation Internationale of Football Association (FIFA) released a manual, entitled the “2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil – FIFA Public Guidelines for Use of FIFA’s Official Marks”, on how businesses and individuals should deal with any IP related issues. The manual is 27 pages long and includes a section dedicated to the official marks of FIFA, examples of how to use the marks, and other general information. In the manual, FIFFA states that any “unauthorized use of the Official Marks not only undermines the integrity of the FIFA World Cup and its marketing program, but also puts the interests of the worldwide football community at stake.” The manual lists the official marks, official emblem, official mascot, official slogan, official look element, the FIFA World Cup trophy, official poster, official fan fest logo, a list of protected terms and a variety of other words and marks that FIFA is aiming to protect. Of the protected terms, FIFA includes, World Cup, Brazil 2014, Soccer World Cup and more. By releasing this manual and instructions on use, FIFA is making...
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On April 10, 2014 OpenTV and Nagravision, two subsidiaries of The Kudelski Group, filed suit against Apple in the Northern District of California. The lawsuit alleges Apple is infringing upon five of OpenTV’s patents relating to video technology. OpenTV focuses on software for advanced program guides, video-on-demand, personal video recording, interactive and addressable advertising and a variety of enhanced television applications. Nagravision provides security and multiscreen user experience solutions for the monetization of digital media. The lawsuit states Apple’s iOS mobile devices, Apple TV, App Store, iTunes, iAd’s, Safari and OS X-based personal computers infringe these patents. This is not the first time OpenTV has sued a company for patent infringement. It also sued Netflix in 2012 and 2013. In that suit, OpenTV alleged seven of its patents were infringed which covered aspects of over-the-top TV technology. Cisco Systems was also sued by OpenTV under similar circumstances. Cisco decided to settle, but the settlement amount was not disclosed. OpenTV owns about 800 patents at this point. The company obviously has not lost its zeal for defending its patent rights. Anyone who operates in similar technologies certainly is on notice that OpenTV is watching. However, OpenTV did offer to negotiate licenses with the companies it sued. Apple, Netflix, and Cisco...
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Film enthusiasts may be familiar with the silent film Safety Last! Starring Harold Lloyd, this film debuted in 1923. Even those who are not familiar with the movie may recognize the iconic scene where Lloyd is dangling from the hands of a giant clock. Cupecoy Home Fashion Inc. produces a 12” metal clock with a man dangling from the minute hand. This clock drew the ire of Harold Lloyd Entertainment, who filed a copyright infringement lawsuit on March 11, 2014. Harold Lloyd Entertainment alleged the clock was a direct appropriation of the iconic clock scene. It also highlighted that it had previously licensed the rights to create a derivative version of the clock scene before. The movie Back to the Future obtained permission to film the scene of Doc Brown (Christopher Lloyd) hanging from the clock tower towards the end of the movie. Most recently, Harold Lloyd Entertainment granted a license to Martin Scorsese to create a similar scene in the movie Hugo. In fact, posters for the movie featured this scene. It may seem like a movie 1923 is too old to still be protected by copyright. However, it is the edge of copyright protection. If it debuted in 1922, it would be in the public domain. 1923...
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Earlier this month a new coffee shop opened in Los Angeles called Dumb Starbucks. The outer appearance of the shop is an exact replica of a Starbucks coffee shop except the word “Dumb” appears in front of Starbucks. Inside, everything is also an exact replica of a Starbucks with the word “dumb” inserted in front. The cups have the Dumb Starbucks logo and the menu items are dumb as well. Canadian comic Nathan Felder is the owner of the shop and announced plans to open a second location in New York. Naturally, Starbucks is not amused and has pledged to protect its trademark. They have stated that they are “evaluating next steps” and have made it clear that “they cannot use our name, which is a protected trademark.” Dumb Starbucks has potentially infringed multiple forms of trademark protection. Starbucks is a protected word mark and using Dumb Starbucks in commerce can confuse consumers or dilute the Starbucks brand. Similarly, the logo for Starbucks is also protected but Dumb Starbucks copied it and inserted the word “dumb.” Since Dumb Starbucks also copied the colors of a Starbucks shop it may have infringed upon trade dress protection, the outside appearance of the coffee shops which help consumers identify they are Starbucks....
Learn MoreThe music artist known as Prince has a prior history of filing lawsuits to protect his music and his name. His most recent suit concerns videos from his concerts on videos and blog sites. However, after receiving negative feedback from his fans over the lawsuit, Prince was dropped his lawsuit. Nonetheless, examining his claims will be a useful exercise in understanding what video content on the Internet can constitute copyright infringement or anti-bootlegging violations. Prince filed this action in the Northern District of California on January 16, 2014. He named 10 defendants, two by name and twenty John Does who are identified by their online identities. He also cited to Google Blogger and Facebook pages which contained links to file sharing services where users could download unauthorized copies of Prince’s live performance. Prince also accuses the defendants of working in concert to distribute the bootleg copies of the live performances. All of Prince’s songs were wisely registered with the United States Copyright Office. In the complaint, Prince’s attorney methodically listed every defendant, the songs they shared, and the registration number for the copyright in each song. Since the songs are registered, Prince had a choice of seeking statutory damages (up to $250,000 for each act of infringement) or actual...
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