Episodes

Mariah Carey has widely been referred to by fans as the ‘Queen of Christmas,’ but when she attempted to trademark the title last year, it was met with pushback from another singer and songwriter who claimed to hold the same title. Scott Hervey and Tara Sattler discuss this dispute on this Holiday edition of The Briefing. Watch this episode on the Weintraub YouTube channel here. Show Notes: Scott: In 2022, Mariah Carey sought to register the trademark ‘Queen of Christmas’ for a wide variety o...

Netflix has been ordered to pay GoTV Streaming $2.5 Million in damages for infringing one of its wireless technology patents. Scott Hervey and Eric Caligiuri discuss this update on this episode of The Briefing. Watch this episode on the Weintraub YouTube channel here. Show Notes: Scott: I’m Scott Hervey with Weintraub Tobin. In a prior discussion with my colleague, Eric Caligiuri, earlier this year, we talked about a case where a federal court denied discovery requests aimed at uncovering det...

The Supreme Court rejected a trademark infringement claim against the producers of the Quentin Tarantino film ‘Once Upon a Time… in Hollywood’ over its portrayal of the late actor Christopher Jones. Scott Hervey and Tara Sattler discuss this decision in this episode of The Briefing. Watch this episode on the Weintraub YouTube channel here. Show Notes: Tara: The laws surrounding false endorsement claims in the United States are rooted in section 43 A of the Lanham Act. There’s quite a bit of ...

The creator of a LEGO brick Second Holy Temple product is accusing another LEGO creator of copyright infringement for their interpretation of the same temple. Scott Hervey and Eric Caligiuri discuss this case on this episode of The Briefing. Watch this episode on the Weintraub YouTube channel here or read Eric’s article about this case here. Show Notes: Scott: I’m Scott Hervey from Weintraub Tobin. My colleague Eric Caligiuri wrote an interesting article for The Briefing about a recent copyr...

The Supreme Court recently heard oral arguments in the case of Vidal v. Elster to determine whether the USPTO’s refusal to register the trademark “Trump Too Small” violates the applicant’s First Amendment rights. Scott Hervey and Eric Caligiuri discuss this case on this installment of The Briefing. Watch this episode on the Weintraub YouTube channel here. Show Notes: Scott: Today, November 1, 2023, the Supreme Court will hear oral arguments on whether the Trademark Office’s refusal to registe...

Thomson Reuters sued Ross Intelligence for using its content to train its AI technology. Scott Hervey and Tara Sattler talk about this copyright dispute on this installment of The Briefing. Watch this episode on the Weintraub YouTube channel here. Show Notes: Scott: Thompson Reuters, the provider of the Westlaw Legal Research Platform, sued Ross Intelligence for copyright infringement based on Ross’s use of Westlaw content to train Ross’s IP technology. This court ruling on a motion for summa...

A tattoo artist is suing Netflix for showing one of her tattoos in the series “Tiger King” without her permission. Scott Hervey and Tara Sattler discuss this case on this episode of The Briefing. Watch this episode on the Weintraub YouTube channel here. Show Notes: Scott: On this installment of The Briefing, we’re going to talk about yet another post-Warhol fair use case. However, in this case, the Court finds the secondary use to be transformative. This case also makes me think that fair us...

Former New York prosecutor Linda Fairstein is suing Netflix over her portrayal in the limited series “When They See Us,” which tells the story of the 1989 Central Park Five case. Scott Hervey and Tara Sattler discuss this dispute on this episode of The Briefing. Watch this episode on the Weintraub YouTube channel here. Show Notes: Tara: There have been quite a few high-profile defamation cases making their way through the courts recently. One of those cases is Fairstein v. Netflix, a defamati...

The Parmigiano Reggiano Consortium claims that Italy’s renowned Parmigiano Reggiano cheese is one of the most counterfeited cheeses in the world. Scott Hervey and Jamie Lincenberg discuss how they plan to fight off these counterfeits on this episode of The Briefing. Watch this episode on the Weintraub YouTube channel here. Scott: The Parmigiano Reggiano Consortium claims that Italy’s renowned Parmigiano Reggiano cheese is one of the most counterfeited cheeses in the world. And the consortium ...

Amazon is suing two social media influencers for promoting the sale of counterfeit luxury goods on the platform. Scott Hervey and Jamie Lincenberg discuss this case on this episode of The Briefing. Watch this episode on the Weintraub YouTube channel here. Show Notes: Jamie: Last week, Amazon.com, Seattle-based tech and e-commerce giant, and its counterfeit crimes unit launched lawsuits in Seattle federal court against two social media influencers and their coconspirators, accusing the defend...

A recent article in The Hollywood Reporter explores TV and movie studios’ potential use of AI for generating scripts. Scott Hervey and Jamie Lincenberg discuss this and other statements in the article on this episode of The Briefing. Watch this episode on the Weintraub YouTube channel here. Show Notes: Scott: An August 23rd article in The Hollywood Reporter had the title, “Studio’s Offer to Writer May Lead to AI-created Scripts that are Copyrightable.” The article acknowledged that copyright...

An Illinois judge rejected an infringement claim brought by rapper Gutta, alleging that a song released by hip-hop artist Future infringed his rights. Scott Hervey and Jamie Lincenberg talk about this dispute on this episode of The Briefing. Watch this episode on the Weintraub YouTube channel here. Show Notes: Jamie: On August 25, 2023, the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois rejected an infringement claim brought by rapper Dequan Robinson, otherwise known as Gutta, all...

A photographer is suing a real estate media site for copyright infringement after publishing several of his photos without permission. Scott Hervey and Jamie Lincenberg discuss this case and explain how media companies can handle similar situations in a post-Warhol world on this episode of The Briefing. Watch this episode on the Weintraub YouTube channel here. Show Notes: Scott: One of the recent copyright infringement cases post the Supreme Court’s decision in Warhol is Brandon Vogts, I hop...

Failure to disclose certain relationships with a third party may result in significant consequences from the court. Scott Hervey and Eric Caligiuri talk about this on this episode of The Briefing. Watch this episode on the Weintraub YouTube channel here. Show Notes: Scott: In our last discussion with my colleague Eric Caligiuri, we looked into a case where a federal court denied discovery request aimed at uncovering details surrounding the financing of a plaintiff’s patent litigation case. T...

In Blue Mountain Holdings v. Bliss Nutraceuticals, the 11th Circuit upheld a U.S. District Court finding that Lighthouse Enterprises issued a naked license to Blue Mountain, which covered the trademark in question. Scott Hervey and Eric Caligiuri discuss this case and how to avoid bearing the risks of a naked license in this episode of The Briefing. Watch this episode on the Weintraub YouTube channel here. Show Notes: Scott: The trademark dispute in Blue Mountain Holdings versus Blitz Nutrace...

The Federal Circuit Court of Appeals invalidated seven patents owned by an AI technology company after applying the two-step Alice test. Scott Hervey and Audrey Millemann talk about this decision on this episode of The Briefing. Watch this episode on the Weintraub YouTube channel here. Show Notes: Scott: Under the Alice test for patent subject matter eligibility, the Federal Circuit Court of Appeals continues to strike down patents directed to abstract ideas. The case of People AI, Inc. V. C...

The rise of deepfakes is a growing concern within the entertainment industry. Scott Hervey and Jamie Lincenberg discuss this and the intersection between free speech and protected rights on this episode of The Briefing. Watch this episode on the Weintraub YouTube channel here. Show Notes: Scott: Deepfakes and AI-generated likeness are not just the concerns of striking actors. Just ask Drake, The Weeknd, and UMG, a Drake and Weeknd collaboration that busted the Internet in May of this year wa...

In the case of Brandy Melville v Redbubble, a three judge appellate panel explored whether an owner of an online market place is liable for contributory trademark infringement. Scott Hervey and Jamie Lincenberg discuss this on this episode of The Briefing. Watch this episode on the Weintraub YouTube channel here. Show Notes: Scott: On today’s episode of The Briefing, we will be taking a dive into the Willful Blindness Doctrine which is highlighted by a recent filed opinion in the case between...

Alexis Hunley v. Instagram has been referred to as one of the top copyright cases to watch this year. Scott Hervey and Jamie Lincenberg discuss this case on this episode of The Briefing. Watch this episode on the Weintraub YouTube channel here. Show Notes: Scott: It’s been referred to as one of the top copyright cases to watch this year. The case Alexis Hunley v. Instagram. It questioned the scope and validity of the server test, a copyright doctrine that was established by the 9th Circuit an...

The Ninth Circuit recently issued an opinion affirming that Zillow infringed thousands of copyrights owned by a real estate photography studio. Scott Hervey and James Kachmar discuss this case on this episode of The Briefing. Watch this episode on the Weintraub YouTube channel, here. Show Notes: Scott: In 2019, the 9th Circuit affirmed the trial court’s judgment against Zillow Group based on Zillow’s use of VHT’s photographs on Zillow’s Digs platform. In June of this year 2023, this case fou...

There is some concern that the Supreme Court’s decision in Andy Warhol Foundation v. Goldsmith will harm the documentary filmmaking community. Scott Hervey and Tara Sattler discuss the implications of this case on this episode of The Briefing. Watch this episode on the Weintraub YouTube channel here. Show Notes: Scott: When Andy Warhol Foundation versus Goldsmith was pending before the Supreme Court, a group of prominent documentary filmmakers, including the makers of The Last Days of Vietnam...

The U.S. Supreme Court recently decided that trademark infringement claims under the Lanham Act only apply if the infringing “use in commerce” occurs in the United States. Scott Hervey and Tara Sattler talk about this case on this installment of The Briefing. Watch this episode on the Weintraub YouTube channel here. Show Notes: Tara: Extraterritorial? Not quite for the Lanham Act. The U.S. Supreme Court recently decided that trademark infringement claims under the Lanham Act only apply if the...

The subjects of a documentary have dropped their long-standing defamation lawsuit against Netflix and producers. Scott Hervey and Jamie Lincenberg talk about this case on this episode of The Briefing by the IP Law Blog. Watch this episode on the Weintraub YouTube channel here. Show notes: Scott: As of last week, a longstanding lawsuit against Netflix and producers, Doc Shop Productions, has been dropped. In a previous episode of The Briefing, we discussed the then-current status of the case wh...

The U.S. Supreme Court provided clarification on the application of the Rogers test in relation to Jack Daniels v. VIP Products. Scott Hervey and Jamie Lincenberg talk about this ruling on this episode of The Briefing by the IP Law Blog. Watch this episode on the Weintraub YouTube channel here. Show Notes: Scott: In the case of Jack Daniel’s Properties, Inc. v. VIP Products, the Supreme Court has spoken and provided clarification on the application of the Rogers test and whether the parodic us...