Help, My Trademark is Being Audited!
In early 2017, the US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) began an initiative to “audit” 10% of all maintenance filings for existing trademark registrations. If you own a federally registered trademark, maintenance filings must be filed with the USPTO between the fifth and sixth year [...]
DON’T SLEEP ON LBE RIGHTS!
A few months ago, I wrote a blog detailing the rights language I drafted when licensing a well-known film property on behalf of a client of mine who wanted to create a narrative VR experience using that property. At the time, I was trying to [...]
COPYRIGHT LAW IS MORE COMPLICATED THAN EVER
By Steven Weinberg, Holmes Weinberg PC. Copyright law – the law that governs “content” and therefore all of entertainment, software and media – has become increasingly more important and more complicated than ever. Originally a creature of both state and federal laws, since 1978 copyright [...]
Affiliate Network of Online Marketers Liable For $179 Million
A recent FTC court settlement names a vast network of online marketers and the three people behind it liable for $179 million for using unsubstantiated health claims, fake magazine and news sites, bogus celebrity endorsements, and phony consumer testimonials as well as improper charges in [...]
Winning Back Your Domain Name
We represent several social media influencers, including YouTubers, Instagrammers and Snapchatters. Unfortunately, an all too common occurrence for our clients is to find that their desired domain name has been snapped up by a cybersquatter. The good news is that we may be able to [...]
What You Need To Know About Cyber Attack Insurance
An article in the Wall Street Journal last week discussed the growing need for businesses to consider insurance coverage for cyberattacks. I attach that article if you missed it. However, the first insurance against such attacks is remembering to address security to start with. This [...]
Beachbody Fined 3.6 Million For a Not Free “Free Trials”
Beachbody, a Santa Monica fitness brand behind popular exercise regimens, exercise videos, supplements and weight-loss programs, agreed to pay $3.6 million in penalties and restitution and to change its sales practices. The settlement came after an investigation found Beachbody was applying recurring charges for subscription [...]
Augmented Reality: Working with Licenses and Securing Rights
Thanks to my friend and colleague, Bill Newell, CEO of NorthSouth Studios for this guest blog. After Apple’s keynote just last week, which was preceded by the launch of Apple’s ARKit, and Google’s ARcore, you can safely assume that the avalanche of AR products [...]
LEGALLY DEFINING MEDIATED REALITY: How Do We Know What We’re Getting?
A few months back, my client and I were negotiating a license agreement with a well-known entertainment brand. The agreement was designed to give my client the right to create an interactive VR experience based on that brand. In some ways, the license was no [...]
FTC Halts Operations, Freezes Assets Of Companies Offering Trial Offers
The FTC just filed a suit against 59 corporations and three individuals for violating the FTC Act and the Restore Online Shoppers Confidence Act (ROSCA) for deceptively selling products on 87 websites through free trials that converted to recurring charges on consumers’ credit cards. The [...]
The Supremes Uphold Federal Registration of Derogatory and Offensive Words
The world of branding, and the technical legal world of trademarks, are a lot more complex than most people understand them to be. For example, many branders don’t know the Trademark Law in the United States is really broad, granting protection to just about any [...]
COMPONENT PARTS OF MEDIATED REALITY: LIGHT FIELD CAPTURE
Yes, it's true. I'm not an engineer. So, I'll do my best on this post, as Light Field Capture is a critically important piece of the Mediated Reality ecosystem, and, therefore, to the future of Mediated Reality itself. Here's my effort. I look forward to [...]