On December 18, 2021, the Trademark Modernization Act of 2020 (“TMA”) went into effect, creating new procedures for removing unused trademarks from the federal trademark register and updating existing trademark law procedures. The TMA clears the path for legitimate businesses to register their marks by cleaning out the federal trademark register and giving the United […]
Trademark Law Updated: What Brand Owners Need to Know Read More »
An ever-increasing number of celebrities, athletes and artists are commercializing their own NFTs (short for non-fungible tokens), in part, by entering into NFT contracts with NFT creators or “minters.” NFTs are unique, often one-of-a-kind, digital files (usually images, photographs or short videos) that use blockchain technology to establish proof of ownership. Once created, or “minted,”
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In the recent Ohio State University v. Redbubble trademark law proceeding, the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals considered whether online retailers are liable for trademark infringement arising from products that they sell on their sites. The lower court entered summary judgment in favor of Redbubble, an Australian online retailer, and against Ohio State University (OSU). The court
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The case captioned Purdue University v. Vintage Brand, LLC is an example of one of the most recent battles in the trademark war between institutions of higher learning and online retailers. In the case at issue, Purdue University alleged that Vintage Brand violated trademark law by selling and manufacturing certain goods (e.g., T-shirts) containing Purdue
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In the early ‘90s, Congress passed the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (“TCPA”) to restrict certain telemarketing activities. The TCPA’s essential purpose is to protect consumers from uninvited telemarketing. Over the last 30 years, what constitutes TCPA law has become a patchwork of statutes, regulations, and judicial decisions, largely the result of regulators and courts trying
TCPA Law: Why You Need a Telemarketing Attorney More Than Ever Read More »
Fax marketing offers a valuable channel of advertising for telemarketers. While fax machines are not as ubiquitous as they once were, telemarketers can still take advantage of the benefits of marketing via traditional fax machines. However, the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (“TCPA”) restricts fax marketing and can lead to penalties of $500-1500 per violation. With
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As defined by the Screen Actors Guild (SAG-AFTRA), social media influencers are “popular content creators who have amassed a social media following that they capitalize on by making deals with advertisers to promote brands through the Influencer’s creative content, which they distribute through their social media feeds.” Like businesses, influencers (even though they may be
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While traditional fax machines are less and less common today, litigation over fax marketing remains as rampant as ever. The Telephone Consumer Protection Act (“TCPA”) governs fax marketing and tasks the Federal Communications Commission (“FCC”) with creating rules for telemarketers to follow. One such rule required telemarketers to include detailed opt-out instructions on every fax,
Appeals Court Affirms FCC’s Rule Repeal in Fax Marketing Decision Read More »