With the ever increasing popularity of virtual worlds such as Second Life, trademark owners need to be aware of both the opportunities and challenges that their brands may face in these newly emerging markets. As a trademark owner, if you choose to conduct business in the virtual world, be aware that all of the attendant concerns of brand reputation and disparagement you face in the real world, such as counterfeiting, copyright infringement and misappropriation of property, translate into the virtual space. Read the rest of this entry »

Open source software code is publicly available and enables users to modify and disseminate new code including their modifications. Those who incorporate modifications into commercial software should consider both the patentability and infringement aspects of their efforts. Read the rest of this entry »

Internet domain name registration is a first-come, first-served process. Because of the simplicity and relative low cost of registering a domain, trafficking in domain names has been commonplace since the inception of the Internet. It began with domain name hijacking. In its simplest form, hijacking is the registration of a domain name or names which incorporate the company name or personal name of a famous company or person and then offering to sell or, in fact, selling the domain to the rightful owner. This behavior, known as “cybersquatting,” was effectively outlawed by enactment of the Anticybersquatting Consumer Protection Act of 1999 (ACPA). Read the rest of this entry »

Perfecting a security interest in intellectual property involves determining the appropriate filing venue. In general, Article 9 of the Uniform Commercial Code (“Article 9”) applies to transactions intended to create a security interest.  However, Article 9 can be preempted by certain federal laws authorizing other procedures for recording liens. Read the rest of this entry »

Independent computer programmers and software developers are increasingly turning to open source code in writing new computer programs. Therefore, there is a growing need for both programmers and developers as well as companies who contract for their services and distribute their software to understand both copyright law and the GNU - General Public License (“GPL”) which governs open source code. Read the rest of this entry »

Individuals and businesses in all industries routinely hire consultants to create materials for them.  Examples of materials often outsourced include websites, custom software, brochures, manuals and product literature.  Most purchasers of these items assume that they own all rights to them as soon as they pay for them.  Actually, often times they do not.  Read the rest of this entry »

The Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) was enacted to protect copyright owners from various forms of infringement in the digital age. It is perhaps most famous for its electronic copyright protection provisions. Those provisions make it unlawful to circumvent technological measures, e.g., encryption, that a copyright owner may use to prevent unauthorized access to music, software, movies and other works of authorship that are stored in an electronic medium.
A lesser known but very significant feature of the DMCA is its ability to be used to thwart online copyright infringement. In the absence of protective measures, information stored in electronic media may be easily reproduced. This exposes Internet Web sites as easy prey to potential infringers. Fortunately, the DMCA has a mechanism specifically designed to address this problem. Read the rest of this entry »

A copyright protects the tangible expression of ideas, but not ideas themselves. A copyright will not protect any process, system, concept, principle or discovery (which generally are the subject of patents). For example, a copyright will protect the expression of a computer program as embodied in its operational software and/or on a website. It will not, however, protect the utility or functionality of the software. Read the rest of this entry »

With larger numbers of common language trademarks working their way into our daily lives, normal communication would become very difficult if courts gave absolute property rights to trademark owners.  Section 33(b)(4) of the Lanham Act outlines the fair use defense to trademark infringement. Read the rest of this entry »

As traditionally used, “watermarks” are embedded text or images on a work of authorship, photograph or the like that identifies the author of the work. Their modern equivalents, “digital watermarks,” are used to fingerprint electronic media such as photographs, music and movies. Digital watermarks should be considered mandatory for artists and others who routinely post content on the Internet.