As we approach the mid point of 2012, I can’t help but look forward to 2013 and the copyright issues yet to surface. Of course, I speak of the right-that-shall-not-be-named: termination. Briefly, termination (also called reversion) rights were built into the Copyright Act in Section 304(c) to protect authors of older works from having to… Continue Reading
Tag Archives: Catlan McCurdy
Pinterest, Thy Name is Fair Use
Posted in Almost Advice, Copyrights, Fair Use, First Amendment, InfringementFirst, there was copyright. Then, there was Pinterest. And now, there is drama. The words “copyright infringement” and “Pinterest” have been thrown around a lot recently, mainly due to the blog post of one photographer/lawyer, Kirsten Kowalski. Kirsten recently blogged about her decision to break up with Pinterest aka delete her inspiration boards, and in addition to… Continue Reading
LMFAO: Scandalous and We Know It
Posted in Trademarks, USPTOThe band LMFAO is coming to Minneapolis this May. The band’s name, a mouthful of letters sadly capable of no shorter nickname, is derived from Internet slang that evolved from LOL to LMAO to LMFAO. If you don’t know the meaning behind each acronym, I’ll leave your capable fingers to the Internet searching. LMFAO has… Continue Reading
ABRACADABRA! Pay me $17,000 for stealing my copyrighted magic tricks.
Posted in TrademarksA magician by the name of Hans Klok, former Las Vegas performer and Pamela Anderson aficionado, was fined the equivalent of $16,725 earlier this month by a Dutch court in a copyright infringement case over magic tricks. Klok was sued by his former sidekick, Rafael van Herck, for copying a routine where the magician is… Continue Reading
Tiffany and Co. Joins Louboutin in the Fashion Color War
Posted in Sight, TrademarksAnother fashion icon has joined the ongoing trademark dispute between Yves Saint Laurent and Louboutin, and despite the fact that many of its goods are very small, the company is actually quite a giant. Tiffany and Company. Yes, Tiffany. We’ve all been waiting for the company’s two amicus cents to be thrown into the fight…. Continue Reading
The Fashion Bill Slowly Creeps Towards Becoming a Law
Posted in CopyrightsAbove, my favorite latest designer ripoff – the Kate Middleton wedding dress. A cheaper version of the Alexander McQueen designer’s, Sara Burton, vision, so now every bride can feel like a princess… (photo credit to Mirror.co.uk) With New York Fashion Week nearing its end, and the whirl of Forever 21’s sewing machines beginning to hum, I… Continue Reading
Ralph Lauren’s New Fall Focus: Mexican Drug Traffickers?
Posted in BrandingIf the thousands of ads I have seen over the years have taught me anything, it is that the words “Ralph Lauren” and “drug traffickers” don’t belong in the same sentence. According to ad campaigns, upon hearing “Ralph Lauren” we are instead supposed to imagine clean-shaven, chiseled young men with their equally attractive, perfectly slender,… Continue Reading
Subscribe
Add this blog to your feeds or enter your email in the box below and hit GO to subscribe by email.
Duets Blog Authors
Steve Baird
Just so you know, I'm all about brands and the law, both professionally and personally. I regularly annoy family and friends in retail stores by focusing on product labels—not to buy the product, but to read the fine print and ask, "Who owns these brands" and "Did they really register those marks?" More...
Dan Kelly
You can call me a “non-traditional” attorney, which is a polite way of saying that I did not attend law school straight out of college. I spent five of my first six years after college as a junior high school teacher. The other year I worked as an engineer for a large corporation. More...
Sharon Armstrong
Voted most likely to become an actress while in pre-school, I don’t think I surprised anyone by becoming a lawyer, the steadiest professional gig open to those with a flair for the dramatic. More...
Brent Lorentz
Although I wish I could say my path to the law was the result of a lifelong dream or calling, it was more the result mere curiosity and an affinity for leather-bound books. More...
Catlan McCurdy
Having long been told by my parents that I could do or be anything I wanted, I chose at the age of 10 to become an attorney, as it was the career that would most likely lead me to my goal of becoming the first woman POTUS.More...
Tiffany Blofield
Although my initial career path was to be one of the Supremes (not the musically talented ones with platform shoes and sequins, but rather, the nine wearing sensible shoes and pressed black robes in DC), I will likely stay in Minnesota as I have never lived anywhere else. More...
Brad Walz
My law career started on the ice…as a defensive hockey player (we’re not talking professionally…and if I were, I probably wouldn’t have gotten into law). More...
Susan Perera
Born into the world with an aptitude for science and an affinity for art I found my career path quickly chosen for me. More...
Derek Allen
In hindsight, writing about creativity and the law may have always been in the cards for me. I began training for a career in litigation at an early age by finding ways to disagree with pretty much anyone about pretty much anything. In my longest-running “case,” I argued with my middle school math teacher, Mrs. Jabs, for the better part of four years over whether, even if I got the right answer, I had to show my work to get full credit. More...
Laura Gutierrez
An attorney I am not. Though told to become one, I don't possess those qualities needed to be an effective one (I lack confrontation skills, and although I can write a great argumentative essay, I can’t argue outside a sheet of paper). More...