Year / 2015
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![Trademark Registration from a San Francisco Trademark Attorney]()
USPTO Program Lets Trademark Rights Adapt as Technology Evolves
A USPTO program available this fall allows owners to amend their trademark registrations in cases where the goods or services originally identified with their marks have become obsolete and are no longer…
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Three Reasons Why Your Website Privacy Policy May Need Revamping
When launching a website, most small businesses treat their privacy policies as an afterthought. However, a privacy policy that meets any of the descriptions below may need revamping, or else your business…
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Bikram Requests Extension to Consider Rehearing of Yoga Copyright Case
Bikram’s appellate counsel has asked the 9th Circuit for an extension of time to consider whether to file for a rehearing in his yoga copyright case. Apparently the self-proclaimed yoga guru intends to…
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Four Legal Mistakes Small Business Owners Make When Starting Out
In the rush of starting a business, many owners overlook or give short shrift to the critical issues listed below, which can affect the viability of their business or worse, (in the…
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Can’t Take the Heat: No Copyright Protection for Bikram Yoga Sequence
After years of litigation in multiple cases spanning more than a decade, the Bikram Yoga copyright controversy may finally be resolved. In an opinion rendered October 8, 2015, the 9th Circuit Court…
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3 Legal Tips for Bands Looking to Hit It Big
You got into music because it’s your dream. You put up with hours of rehearsals, the rigors of recording, and the hardships of gigging. “What else do I need to do to…
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You Can Tuna Piano But You Can’t Copyright a Chicken Sandwich
In a case reminiscent of the attempt last fall to protect pizza flavor as a trademark, a plaintiff’s argument seeking copyright protection for his chicken sandwich met with clucking disapproval from a federal court.…
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![Trademark Registration from a San Francisco Trademark Attorney]()
4 Things Business Owners Should Know About the Trademark Clearinghouse
As a new internet era dawns with the continuous roll-out of new gTLDs (“generic top-level domains), business owners interested in protecting their valuable trademark rights and existing domains should be aware of four…
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![Register a copyright]()
“Mother May I Sue?” The Fractured Standard for Bringing Copyright Infringement Suits
The 1976 Copyright Act fundamentally changed the way authors acquire rights in their creations, requiring only fixation “in any tangible medium of expression.” In contrast, under the previous 1909 Copyright Act, an author…
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![Business Formation Lawyer]()
Guest Post on the ceb.com Blog
Just a heads up, I have a guest post on the California Continuing Education of the Bar (CEB) blog about the first case to interpret California’s new LLC law-check it out!
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Skills to Pay the Bills: Beasties Win Attorneys’ Fees in Copyright Case
The Beastie Boys won their motion for attorneys’ fees based on their successful copyright infringement case against Monster Energy. However, the award was reduced, and they did not recover attorneys’ fees under…
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FTC Tackles First Kickstarter Case, Settles Crowdfunding Action
The first case brought by the FTC involving crowdfunding reached a conclusion June 11th with a settlement. The defendant Eric Chevalier raised over $122,000 via Kickstarter to ostensibly produce a board game but…
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Court Rejects Joint Authorship Argument in Overturning Previous Garcia Ruling
The Ninth Circuit overturned a controversial ruling from one of its own panels in a case involving the 2012 short film Innocence of Muslims. The en banc panel dissolved the earlier three-judge panel’s…
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Live Tweeting from 9th Circuit Oral Arguments in Bikram Yoga Case
I will be in the Ninth Circuit’s Pasadena, CA courthouse (Courtroom 1) this Friday morning to live tweet from the oral arguments in Bikram’s Yoga College of India v. Evolation Yoga LLC. There…
