licensing
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Challenging the Sublicense to Your License
Hang in with me, we have a bit of a licensing chain to follow here. The lawsuit is about whether a Russian performer, Sergey Lazarev, had a license to record and perform the song “Almost Sorry”: The song was written by Taryn Murphy and Chris Landon. They pitched Lazarev’s manager in 2006 and we have… Continue reading
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When is a Trademark License Not a License?
The legal significance of a “license” to the BUTTERNUT trademark has been in dispute for ten years now. I put “license” in quotes because while the document in question is called a license, it’s not your typical trademark license. In 1996, in settlement of an antitrust suit brought by the Justice Department, defendant Interstate Bakeries… Continue reading
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“Abandoned” Means It’s Not Yours Anymore
What a mess. Add up ugly facts and a court that bought a frivolous and completely wrong argument (made without citation – because there aren’t any) and you end up with a fiasco. Here’s to appeals. Non-party Herb Burkhalter had a yellow pages directory business he sold to co-defendants Steven M. Brandeberry and American Telephone… Continue reading
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Eighth Circuit Screws Bread Company
I previously reported on a bankruptcy involving the BUTTERNUT trademark for breads. In 1996, in order to avoid antitrust concerns created by its acquisition of another bread company, Interstate Bakeries Corporation (IBC) sold assets and granted a trademark license for its BUTTERNUT and SUNBEAM marks to Lewis Brothers Bakeries (LBB). The trademark license was only… Continue reading
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I Learned What “Dubitante” Means
For purposes of patent standing, there are generally three categories of ownership described: patent owner, exclusive licensee, and non-exclusive licensee. The first has the right to sue, an exclusive licensee must join the assignee in any patent infringement suit, and the non-exclusive licensee has no standing at all. But the first category can be subdivided.… Continue reading
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Treating Patents More Like Property
The Patently-O blog has a thoughtful post on patent ownership and licensing, advocating for a stricter recording requirement: Because of an inadequate system for recordation, prospective purchasers, licensees, lenders, and even defendants in a lawsuit may have to take it on faith that the seller, licensor, borrower, or plaintiff truly owns, and has not previously… Continue reading
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The Yankees Still Own Their Logo
Last April there was an interesting complaint filed (blogged here) by a woman who claimed that her uncle, Kenneth Timur, now deceased, had designed the New York Yankees logo in 1936 but hadn’t been compensated for it. The plaintiff’s proof of authorship was the fact that her uncle, when he revised the logo in 1952,… Continue reading
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What Does a Patent “Cover”?
What does “cover” mean in a patent assignment clause? Plaintiff Openwave Systems, Inc. developed software for network computing but decided to sell off the client-side part of the business, keeping the server-side. It sold the business to Purple Labs S.A., predecessor to defendant Myriad France S.A.S. Some patents were assigned in the transaction, but the… Continue reading
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Yankees Sued Over Ownership of Logo
There’s an interesting, albeit quixotic, complaint against the Yankees over the ownership of its “top hat” logo: Plaintiff Tanit Buday claims that her uncle, Kenneth Timur, designed the logo for the Yankees in 1936 but was not compensated for the design. In 1947 he modified the logo design in preparation for the 50-year anniversary of… Continue reading
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Learn more about me at my website, Chestek Legal
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