Yandy Infringes Upon Sesame Street’s Big Bird Trademark

Can a company’s mascots be trademarked? The answer to that question is yes, yes they can.  A trademark is defined by dictionary.com as any name, symbol, figure, letter, word, or mark adopted and used by a manufacturer or merchant in order to designate his or her goods and to distinguish them from those manufactured or […]

The Bullies of Copyrights

No one likes bullies. Who doesn’t remember the school bully picking on someone on the playground? Unfortunately, bullies can be found outside of the school playground. They exist everywhere, even when it comes to copyright laws. Copyright laws are set in place to protect others from infringing on an individual’s original work. However, what happens when an individual or […]

Trade Dress Your Product

In 1916, a glass bottle manufacturing company in Terre Haute, Indiana won a bottle design contest.  Their contour shaped bottle is today recognized worldwide by billions of consumers and is one of the most recognizable examples of trade dress protection.   The glass bottle company was The Root Glass Company.  The bottle they designed was for […]

Joint Authorship Versus Work Made for Hire

“Do you like apples?  Well, I got her number. How do you like them apples?”  These three sentences have got to be my all time favorite lines from the movie Good Will Hunting.  Good Will Hunting was co-scripted by Ben Affleck and Matt Damon back in 1997.  Their creative partnership is a perfect example of […]

An Evening of Hope

  Community support key to Scott Center’s success An Evening of Hope’s proceeds will benefit children with autism Melbourne attorney Mark Malek is the chair of this year’s An Evening of Hope event. / Malcolm Denemark/ FLORIDA TODAY Written by Maria Sonnenberg For FLORIDA TODAY  

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