Even though President Trump and his family are avid traders of trademarks and manage their last name as a brand in multiple industries, he does not seem to respect others’ intellectual property as he should. Once again, a musician has sent through his lawyers a cease and desist letter to the White House for the use of music in Trump’s political rallies without permission. We already wrote about other complaints to the White House in…
Bad guys are always looking to profit from other people’s properties and intellectual property (such as trademarks) is not the exception. You may be surprised that, yes, people steal businesses names, logos, copyrighted material, and that bad actors are getting more sophisticated in the way they take advantage of the owners. They are going high-tech. Just last week, mid-October 2018, the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) issued an e-mail alerting trademark owners of…
The music industry scored a major victory last week with the help of the current administration, when President Trump signed a long-awaited bill called The Music Modernization Act (H.R. 1551) on Thursday, October 11th, 2018. Surrounded by well know musicians, president Trump updated the intersection of Intellectual Property, streaming services, and music, reforming the licensing landscape and finalizing landmark reform to the United States copyright law. This new bill adapts the law to the digital…
The famous Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in New York has won a preliminary injunction in federal court against small teahouse for what it was described as the deliberate use of a similar name and logo in order to confuse the public. Ouch! The Lower East Side establishment was forced to change its name from MoMaCha to MaMaCha and has posted a disclaimer noting that they are not affiliated with the MoMA. Museum lawyers alleged…
Aretha Franklin’s funeral was fit for the Queen she was, complete with four changes of outfits and several public viewings. To express their admiration and gratitude, her fans traveled from faraway places to be close to her in her final tour. The famous interpreter of RESPECT and Natural Woman died August the 16th, 2018 at the age of 76. Her voice and songs made her the Queen of Soul and the creator of invaluable intellectual property difficult to…
