Musings on Intellectual Property
Intellectual property covers many areas, including patents, trademarks, copyrights, and trade secrets. Learn how each of these creative assets can bolster your revenue, secure a market advantage over competitors, and drive growth.
In most cases, my client or my client’s opponent has emails that are relevant in a lawsuit and are subject to discovery. But what happens when those emails are in Gmail, Hotmail, Yahoo, etc. accounts? What about Facebook messages? Well, you normally get them from the person who sent or
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Today the Supreme Court handed down its decision in Lackey v. Stinnie, 604 U.S. __ (2025). I was eagerly awaiting the Court’s decision there, as I had cited that (then-pending) case in a petition for writ of certiorari I filed in September 2024: Abdelsayed v. Affordable Aerial Photography, Inc. My
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Solar energy production by individual homes is likely being thwarted by behind-the-scenes accounting at power companies and the market for solar panels. What do I mean by that? Well, the economics of an individual homeowner to invest in a solar array for their home for a grid-tie system are driven
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No one likes to receive a letter from a lawyer, especially one claiming that you’ve done something wrong, like infringing someone’s copyright. That’s exactly what Affordable Aerial Photography, Inc., and its proprietor, Robert Stevens are doing: employing law firms to send demand letters to people who might have a photograph
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The Supreme Court opens the door for collecting lost profits and royalties on patent infringement that occurs beyond U.S. borders. What if you have a U.S. patent, and a competitor makes some of the parts to your patented product in the U.S., but assembles them outside the U.S., say in
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Can you use a trademark as a defensive shield to protect yourself and your business, besides using it to enforce your brand? Most people think of a trademark as a weapon to prevent a competitor from stealing their customers, ripping off their brand, and taking marketshare. True, that’s the primary
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No Trade Secret Protection for Uber’s Rider Data On January 10, 2018, the Florida Fourth District Court of Appeals held that rideshare company Uber (through its subsidiary Raiser LLC), could not claim trade secret protection to prevent the disclosure of its rider data. The case resulted from traditional taxicab company,
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How long does a trademark last? What do you need to do to keep your trademark? Here is some insight into the life of a trademark, how long it lasts, and renewal process and deadlines. So you have a trademark, are using the “circle-R” to show it off, and now
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What happens when a brand becomes so well known that people start referring to all products according to the brand name? For example, what is the first term that comes to mind when you think of a box full of facial tissue? Kleenex perhaps? (Technically, this brand remains alive, though
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You came up with your brand and identity for a business or product. You searched online to see if anyone else had the same great idea. You found a trademark, but it’s abandoned or cancelled. What does that mean for your idea? Are you free to register the trademark for
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