Three years ago, a jury awarded Marvin Gaye's family more than $7.3 million for copyright infringement. The jury found that Robin Thicke and Pharrell Williams' 2013 hit "Blurred Lines" had too closely copied Marvin Gaye's 1977 song "Got to Give It Up." Thicke and Williams appealed, arguing, among other things, that there is no similarity between the two songs. The [...]
You may have read that a court ruled that Google has not lost trademark protection for its GOOGLE trademark despite the frequent use of "google" as a verb that means to search the internet. So does this mean it's okay for you to use your trademark as a verb or a noun? No. Doing so would be risky, because when [...]
One of the most valuable assets a business has may be its trade secrets, and most businesses have them. Trade secrets include, among other things, customer lists, supplier lists, secret formulas, processes and the like. In order for an item to be considered a trade secret, it must be both kept confidential and provide the business with a commercial advantage. [...]
Con artists posing as IRS agents or collection agencies working for the IRS continue to make telephone calls and send snail mail and email letters in an attempt to scam money from unsuspecting taxpayers. These unscrupulous individuals typically accuse their targets of tax fraud and threaten them with arrest, deportation, and/or revocation of their drivers' or business licenses if they [...]
The US Patent and Trademark Office (PTO) just announced a pilot program designed to fight the filing of fraudulent specimens with trademark applications. In this context, a "specimen" is a "real-life sample" of how a trademark is used in the marketplace. In other words, it's what consumers see when they're actually buying goods and services. For example, the mark might [...]
Often when someone copies all or part of somebody else's copyrighted material, they think they have a defense to any copyright infringement claim because of the doctrine of "fair use." Unfortunately, in many situations, it's not that easy to know whether the copying would actually be considered "fair use." The term "fair use" isn't even defined by the copyright statute. [...]
The US Department of Labor (DOL) is using a new seven-factor balancing test to determine whether a person is an intern who does not have to be paid or an employee with the protection of wage laws. The new "primary beneficiary test" measures whether the intern or employer is the primary beneficiary of the relationship. If the intern is the primary [...]
(while our Hampton Street office is being restored from the fire) Now that we're settled into our temporary office space, we wanted to update you about the best ways to contact us. Please send all USPS mail to us at PO Box 230520, Tigard, OR 97281. Our street address, for UPS, Fed Ex or any other type of courier service [...]
Earlier this week, a federal court awarded a judgment of $6.75 million to 21 graffiti artists whose works were destroyed at the 5Pointz complex in Long Island City, Queens. In 2013, Jerry Wolkoff, the real estate developer who owned 5Pointz, whitewashed dozens of murals at the complex. Wolkoff argued that the buildings were his to treat as he pleased, but [...]
With the continued focus on sexual harassment brought about by the #MeToo movement, it is important that all employers make sure they have appropriate written sexual harassment policies and training procedures in place. Employees at all levels should participate in anti-harassment training and, if your company doesn't already have an employee handbook that covers this issue, it's time to change [...]