Jack Dunn, author of The Vatican Boys, is proceeding with a copyright infringement case against Dan Brown, reports this article from Catholic Online.
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Commentary on intellectual property and intellectual capital as a business asset has been a hot topic since the mid-90s.  A number of business and consulting books emerged as part of the trend.  One of the books of interest in this genre is Rembrandts in the Attic: Unlocking the Hidden Value of Patents by Kevin G. Rivette and David Kline, Harvard Business School Press, 2000.  The focus is on patents, but the general idea that intellectual property is a CEO responsibility has broader implications.    more »

Sorting through copyright fair use is a challenge for authors, musicians and entrepreneurs.  The following case from 2006 is a useful guide: Bill Graham Archives v. Dorling Kindersley Limited, 448 F.3d 605 (2d. Cir. 2006).  The Second Circuit allowed use of seven Grateful Dead concert posters in a history of the band.    more »

As readers here may know, ICANN is considering rule changes that would reduce the amount of contact information provided in WHOIS records.  Recent articles appear at:

Creative Mac "Internet Domain Name Body Inches Forward In Relaxing Contact Disclosure Requirements"

National Law Journal, "Web site owners may get tougher to find"

I was interviewed for and mentioned in the latter article.

Now is the time to speak up if you oppose limits on WHOIS disclosures. 

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The Illinois Appellate court has ruled that the sponsors of a youth hockey program may be liable for injuries incurred by player hit from behind, if they failed to adequately enforce game rules.  "Organization Defendants" may be liable if their negligence was the cause of willful and wanton behavior leading to the injury.  See Karas v. Strevell 2006 WL 3849138.  Complete discussion appears in Steven P. Garmisa's Trial Notebook column in the Chicago Daily Law Bulletin, February 21, 2006. 

One wonders about the circumstances that could lead corporate sponsors to be liable for sports injuries.

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Interbrand Corp. recently listed the 100 best global brands for 2006.  Brand value is a calculation of what the brand means to the company's bottom line.

Chicago brands making the list include:

McDONALD'S ($27.5M)
WRIGLEY ($5.4M)
CATERPILLAR ($4.6M)
MOTOROLA ($4.5M)
KRAFT ($3.9M)

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The purpose of this post is to collect decisions under the TDRA.  If you know any decisions not listed here please advise.

Louis Vuitton Malletier S.A. v. Haute Diggity Dog LLC, 81 U.S.P.Q.2d (E.D.Va. 2006)(granting summary judgment denying dilution claim against CHEWY VUITON).

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Mexican film director Juan Catlett has filed suit claiming Gibson stole scenes from Catlett's film "Return to Atzlan" for Gibson's "Apocalypto." 

Ben Carrozza at Dose.ca reports on the matter here, implying that plagiarism claims may be out of hand with these closing remarks:

"No word on whether Saints Matthew, Mark, Luke or John have considered a similar lawsuit against Gibson for his use of their work in 2004 Biblical piece The Passion of the Christ."

 

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Outcomes Pharmaceutical Health Care has lost its preliminary injunction claim against National Community
Pharmacists Association and Community MTM(SM) Services Inc.  More available here.   more »

The Amsterdam Court of Appeal ruled on December 14, 2006, that resellers of branded products may use the trademark as an adword in internet search engines.  It appears, however, that the decision does not permit bait and switch tactics. 

Here's a report (in Dutch).

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The Broadway production team for the popular musical Urinetown accused two Midwest productions of Urinetown of plagiarism.  Now, the Ohio production is fighting back with a delcaratory judgment action filed November 22, 2006.  The disputes involves copyright protection claims in direction, choreography and set design, not in the play itself.  An industry insider told me last week that it has been common practice for local production companies to mimic original productions in terms of direction and choreography, so the dispute is shaking up the industry.

For more on the current controversy, see this article at Playbill.

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A recent Illinois decision recognizes a claim for "commercial disparagement" based on a "vituperative" advertisement, Imperial Apparel Ltd. v. Cosmos's Designer Direct, Inc., 2006 WL 2129448, rejecting a 1997 decision which had concluded there was no remedy for commerical disparagement in Illinois.  The decision provides an additional tool for taking action against disparaging statements made in advertising.

The defendant's remarkable advertisement asserted that the plaintiff was attempting to pull the "polyester over your eyes" with "a low rent 3-for imitation that has the transparency of a hooker's come on" with inflated prices, compromised quality and "all the integrity of the ...   more »

Does the republication and distribution of short excerpts from news articles with links to the original constitute copyright infringement or fair use?  The practice is common on the part of search engines, news aggregators and bloggers.  But is it permited?

Google has been involved in a lawsuit over the practice for some time.  Read more here.  More recently, Microsoft has agreed to comply with a cease and desist demand sent on behalf of Belgian newspaper publishers, as reported here.  Google's comment on its current dispute in Belgium appears here. SearchEngineWatch provides interesting commentary and background here....   more »