Category - "Copyright"

Restricted Access to WHOIS Data Jeopardizes Brand Owners Online

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As many brand owners know, WHOIS data is the publicly available information on who has registered a particular internet domain name. In layman’s terms, WHOIS records are akin to land title or property tax records: a record of who owns the internet property of domain names available in .com, .net and other generic top-level domain (gTLD) spaces. Each WHOIS record contains basic contact information for the domain name registrant: name, address, phone number, email address and certain other technical attributes. Since the dawn of the internet, gTLD registrars and registries – those companies who sell domain names – have collected contact information from all registrants at the time of registration.

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Introducing TCAMToday – a Faegre Drinker℠ blog on T®ademark, ©opyright, Advertising & Media

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Faegre Drinker Biddle & Reath LLP (Faegre Drinker) launched global operations on February 1, 2020. Faegre Drinker is the combination of Faegre Baker Daniels, an international law firm with deep roots in the Midwest, and Drinker Biddle & Reath LLP, a full-service national law firm with storied East Coast origins.

With more than 1,300 attorneys, consultants and professionals in 22 locations across the U.S., U.K. and China, Faegre Drinker is one of the nation’s 50 largest law firms based on size and projected gross revenue.

We are very excited to introduce TCAMToday, Faegre Drinker’s successor to the DB®anding Blog.  Our newly expanded team of over 30 T-CAM professionals will continue to provide fresh commentary on Trademark, Copyright, Advertising and Media topics ranging from anticounterfeiting to sweepstakes and promotions.  Watch this space!

It’s Perfect! Or, Perfecting Security Interests in Intellectual Property

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In our recent post, we discussed the Seven Secrets of Security Interests relevant for owners or buyers of intellectual property.  But after an IP owner grants a security interest in intellectual property, how do you make it official?

Welcome to the mysterious world known as perfection.  That’s a fancy word for filing the right documents with the correct organizations so everyone knows that the lender has that security interest in intellectual property – and to make sure that the lender has priority over other parties who might have a future interest in the IP.

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Trademark Security Interests in Canada (Guest Post from Canadian Firm)

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We recently shared our Seven Secrets of Security Interests with some tips about security interests in IP registered in the U.S.  But often, U.S. IP goes hand-in-hand with trademarks, patents, and copyrights registered in Canada.  Should security interests against Canadian IP be treated the same as in the U.S.?

We asked our colleague Silvia de Sousa from Thompson Dorfman Sweatman LLP in Winnipeg, Manitoba to describe the basics of security interests involving Canadian trademarks (as well as patents and copyrights).  Silvia’s answers appear below.  Enjoy!

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Debunking Copyright Myths

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While most of our posts relate to trademark matters, brand owners should also be aware of some common misconceptions about copyright law, which we debunk in the following article. This post is based on the authors’ article “Debunking Copyright Myths,” originally published in Landslide® magazine, Vol. 11, No. 6, July/August 2019, by the American Bar Association.

These days it seems that copyright law is everywhere, from lawsuits alleging that the multiplayer online battle game Fortnite infringed popular dance moves such as the floss,1 to the Ninth Circuit agreeing that Pharrell Williams and Robin Thicke’s song “Blurred Lines” infringed Marvin Gaye’s copyrighted hit song “Got to Give It Up.”2 As the Internet and technology have become omnipresent in our lives, the constant availability of copyrighted content—from streamed music to photos and posts on social media—has led to the perpetuation of copyright myths. Unfortunately, these myths and numerous others have caused misconceptions over the rights of the copyright holder and the obligations of the user.

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Minimizing Website Infringement Liability: (Re)Designate Your Digital Millennium Copyright Act Agent

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If you have a brand, chances are you have a website.  And if you have a website, chances are you have content on the website – probably some combination of text, music, photos, and graphics, including a logo that may be registered with both the USPTO and the Copyright Office.  You’re probably taking steps to help ensure that infringing content isn’t posted to your website –right?  In case you hadn’t heard of it, here’s an additional nifty, inexpensive way for you to help minimize liability even further: compliance with the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA). Continue reading “Minimizing Website Infringement Liability: (Re)Designate Your Digital Millennium Copyright Act Agent”

Protect Your Brand via Copyright

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Brand owners may be able to use copyright law, in addition to trademark law, to better protect their brands.  “Hey, wait a minute,” you say.  “I thought this was a trademark blog!”  Well, it’s our job to make sure every aspect of our clients’ brands is protected in the best way possible—even if that means venturing into the world of copyright law (and patent law . . . but that’s for another post).

Copyright law protects original works, such as writings, pictures and works of art, which have been expressed in a tangible way.  Trademark law, on the other hand, protects words, phrases, symbols and designs that identify and distinguish the source of products and services.

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