Pamela Chestek
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It’s Quiz Time!
This is a copyright case. Here is the sequence of events according to the plaintiffs’ timeline: 1995: Image created by artist Beasley 1997: Image used by defendant with permission 2003: Image used by defendant without permission 2009: Image used by defendant without permission 2009: Assignment of the copyright in the image from Beaseley to his… Continue reading
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Sometimes You’re Just Stuck With Bad Facts
Sometimes you just have to remind yourself that the facts are the facts, and no amount of sharp lawyering is going to change them. That was the situation for defendant ABN AMRO Bank N.V. (“ABN”). It had hastily negotiated a sale of certain assets to Bank of America (“BAC”) in an unsuccessful attempt to avoid… Continue reading
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Yeah, What He Said
If you think that there is any way around the prohibition in Section 10 of the Lanham Act restricting the assignment of intent-to-use applications,* just give up on the idea. The registrant in Central Garden & Pet Co. v. Deskocil Manufacturing Co., having assigned intent-to-use applications from a wholly-owned grandchild subsidiary up to the parent,… Continue reading
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Do Your Homework
Since the Acacia Research Group‘s business model is based on acquiring patents, you would expect them to be fairly diligent about ensuring that the chain of title is solid. But it wasn’t in Endotach LLC v. Cook Medical Inc. Endotach claimed to be an exclusive licensee of two patents, having acquired its rights from Acacia.… Continue reading
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The Court of Appeals Confirms “Registrant” Means What It Says
I’ve already written a couple of times about Federal Treasury Enterprise Sojuzplodoimport v. SPI Spirits Ltd. The plaintiff in the case, FTE, manages the STOLICHNAYA trademark on behalf of the Russian government. The first time the case went to the Court of Appeals, the appeals court reversed the trial court and held that the incontestability… Continue reading
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Del Monte vs. Del Monte
My last post was on the Legal Rights Objection (LRO) between Merck KGaA and Merck & Co., and today it’s the one between Del Monte Corp. and Del Monte International GmbH. Both are proceedings between parties that have a common history and an ongoing relationship defined by agreements. Nevertheless, in Merck, the Panel found that… Continue reading
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Merck vs. Merck
I used to live in the building seen above—well, maybe not that exact building, but one exactly like it in the same complex. It is Lincoln Village, military housing in Damstadt, Germany. Which doesn’t have much to do with anything, except that Merck KGaA is also in Darmstadt, Germany. When I was driving past the… Continue reading
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How the Copyright Act Changes Lives
The Vanity Fair issue has been out for awhile now, but for anyone interested in Harper Lee, “To Kill a Mockingbird,” John Steinbeck, publishing, legal intrigue, contracts, copyright termination, or underhanded dealing, there is a lengthy investigative article in the August issue called “To Steal a Mockingbird.” It is the story behind a lawsuit filed… Continue reading
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It’s Hard to Be a Copyright Troll
I previously reported on a pending case, Contra Piracy v. Does 1-2919, where the court very quickly raised the issue of standing – sua sponte, because it’s still a John Doe case. The savvy court suspected something was up and put the plaintiff to its proof. Owning the bare right to sue isn’t enough for… Continue reading
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Learn more about me at my website, Chestek Legal
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