Episodes

The U.S. Supreme Court will hear the USPTO’s appeal of a Federal Circuit ruling that allows individuals to register trademarks using the name of a living person without their consent. Scott Hervey and Tara Sattler discuss this on this episode of The Briefing. Watch this episode on the Weintraub YouTube channel here. Show Notes: Tara: The U.S. Supreme Court has agreed to hear the USPTO’s appeal of a Federal Circuit ruling that allows individuals to secure registration of a trademark using the ...

The U.S. Supreme Court ruled in Andy Warhol Foundation v. Goldsmith that Andy Warhol’s portrait of music legend Prince did not qualify as fair use under copyright law. Scott Hervey and Tara Sattler talk about this decision on this episode of The Briefing by the IP Law Blog. Watch this episode on the Weintraub YouTube channel here. Cases Discussed: Andy Warhol Foundation v. Goldsmith Campbell v. Acuff-Rose Music Show Notes: Scott: In a closely watched copyright case, the U.S. Supreme Court r...

While iconic catchphrases from TV and film can hold significant equity, protection of them can be spotty. Scott Hervey and Tara Sattler talk about the protectability of short phrases on this episode of The Briefing by the IP Law Blog. Watch this episode on the Weintraub YouTube channel here. Show Notes: Scott: Show me the money. Who you going to call? Go ahead, make my day. These are a few iconic phrases with significant equity. But protection of catchphrases like this are spotty. We are goin...

The Trademark Trial and Appeals Board denied an application to register a trademark for essential oil dispensers meant to fill smoking devices with cannabis-based oils. Scott Hervey and Tara Sattler talk about this case on this episode of The Briefing. Watch this episode on the Weintraub YouTube channel here. Show notes: Scott: On May 3, the TTAB issued a precedential opinion denying an application to register a line of essential oil dispensers used to dispense premeasured amounts of cannabis-...

Major League Baseball player Aaron Judge went before the Trademark Trial and Appeals Board to block a person’s attempt to secure trademark rights for slogans that play on his name. Scott Hervey and Josh Escovedo discuss this dispute on this episode of The Briefing by the IP Law Blog. Watch this episode on the Weintraub YouTube channel here. Show Notes: Josh: Welcome to the Briefing. Today we have some interesting news coming out of the sports world. Aaron Judge, the New York Yankees captain, h...

The Universal Music Group is accusing a TikTok creator of copyright infringement after they published an AI-Generated song that was made to sound like a Drake and Weeknd collaboration. Scott Hervey and Josh Escovedo discuss this dispute in this episode of The Briefing by the IP Law Blog. Watch this episode on the Weintraub YouTube channel here. Cases Discussed: Middler v. Ford Astley v. Matthew Hauri, pka Yung Gravy Show Notes: Scott: Last week, a new Drake and Weeknd collaboration disrupt...

Popular food chains Chipotle and Sweetgreen settled a trademark dispute relating to Sweetgreen’s use of ‘CHIPOTLE’ on its menu. Scott Hervey and Josh Escovedo talk about this dispute on this episode of The Briefing by the IP Law Blog. Watch this episode on the Weintraub YouTube channel here. Show Notes: Scott: I’m Scott Hervey with Weintraub Tobin. Josh: And I’m Josh Escovedo with Weintraub Tobin. Over the course of a few days, Chipotle and Sweetgreen engaged in a trademark skirmish concern...

Journalist Bob Woodward asked the court to dismiss former President Trump’s copyright infringement claim regarding Woodward’s audio book “The Trump Tapes,” which consists of 20 raw audio interviews with Trump. Scott Hervey and Josh Escovedo talk about this case on this episode of The Briefing by the IP Law Blog. Watch this episode on the Weintraub YouTube channel here. Cases Discussed: Trump v. Woodward Taggart v. WMAQ Channel 5 Chicago Show Notes: Scott: Veteran investigative reporter Bob W...

The Supreme Court has finally heard arguments in the VIP Products v. Jack Daniels case, in which the whiskey company accused the dog toy maker of infringing its trademark with its whiskey bottle chew toy. Scott Hervey and Josh Escovedo discuss this dispute in the episode of The Briefing by the IP Law Blog. Watch this episode on the Weintraub YouTube channel here. Show Notes: Scott: I’m Scott Hervey with Weintraub Tobin. Josh: and I’m Josh Escovedo with Weintraub Tobin. The Supreme Court has ...

The Anne of Green Gables Licensing Authority is accusing a New York theater production company of trademark infringement for producing a show titled ‘Anne of Green Gables – The Musical.’ Scott Hervey and Josh Escovedo talk about this dispute on this episode of The Briefing by the IP Law Blog. Watch this episode on the Weintraub YouTube channel here. Cases Discussed: Anne With An E, Limited Liability Company v. Anne of Green Gables Licensing Authority Inc. Hermes v. Rothschild Show Notes: Sc...

The NFL and Las Vegas Raiders threatened to sue a local law firm for trademark infringement, after the firm hired one of its athletes to appear in an advertisement with black and silver branding. Scott Hervey and Josh Escovedo talk about this dispute on this episode of The Briefing by the IP Law Blog. Watch this episode on the Weintraub YouTube channel here. Show Notes: Scott: I’m Scott Hervey with Weintraub Tobin. Josh: I’m Josh Escovedo with Weintraub Tobin. A dispute has arisen between t...

The US Copyright Office issued a policy statement regarding the registration of works that contain material generated by AI technology. Scott Hervey and Josh Escovedo talk about this clarification on this episode of The Briefing by the IP Law Blog. Watch this episode on the Weintraub YouTube channel here. Show Notes: Scott: With the buzz still fresh from the copyright office’s partial revocation of the registration issued to Kristina Kashtanova for the graphic novel, Zarya of the Dawn. On Mar...

The United States Patent and Trademark office has suspended action on trademark applications targeting the names of public figures. Scott Hervey and Josh Escovedo 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: I’m Scott Hervey with Weintraub Tobin. Josh: I’m Josh Escovedo with Weintraub Tobin. The USPTO has suspended action on trademark application trying to take advantage of a new appella...

The U.S. Copyright Office instituted an inquiry into a registration relating to a graphic novel that uses AI-generated artwork. Scott Hervey and Josh Escovedo 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: Kristina Kashtanova is the author of the graphic novel, Zarya of the Dawn. Ms. Kashtanova had previously applied for and obtained a copyright registration for the graphic novel. Sometime af...

Singer Rick Astley is suing rapper Yung Gravy for vocal imitation in his smash hit, Betty (Get Money). Scott Hervey and Josh Escovedo talk about this case on this episode of The Briefing by the IP Law Blog. Watch this episode on the Weintraub YouTube channel here. Cases discussed: Richard “Rick” Paul Astley vs. Matthew Hauri PKA Yung Gravy; Nick Seeley PKA Popnick; Dillon Francis; David Wilson PKA dwilly; Republic Records Midler v. Ford Motor Co. Waits vs Frito Lay Show notes: Scott Herve...

Getty Images filed a lawsuit against startup tech company Stability AI for allegedly scraping more than 12 million photographs from Getty Images’ portfolio without consent. Scott Hervey and Josh Escovedo discuss this case on this episode of The Briefing by the IP Law Blog. Watch this episode on the Weintraub YouTube channel here. Cases discussed: Getty Images (US), Inc. v. Stability AI, Inc. Visual Arts v. Goldsmith Show Notes: Josh: Getty Images, a preeminent global visual content creator a...

The jury hearing Hermes v. Rothschild found the artist’s ‘MetaBirkin’ NFTs constitutes trademark infringement and trademark dilution. Scott Hervey and Josh Escovedo 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: The jury hearing Hermes v Rothschild found Rothschild liable for trademark infringement and trademark dilution. The matter went to trial after the judge dismissed both Hermes and Rot...

Journalist Bob Woodward conducted an audio interview with former President Donald Trump for his book ‘Rage’ and later released the tapes as its own audiobook. Now, Trump is suing for copyright infringement. Scott Hervey and Josh Escovedo talk about this case on this episode of The Briefing by the IP Law Blog. Cases discussed: TRUMP v. SIMON & SCHUSTER INC et al Falwell v. Penthouse Community for Creative Non-Violence v. Reid Read Scott’s article about this dispute on the IP Law Blog here. ...

A Florida bankruptcy court has terminated FTX’s naming rights agreement for an NBA arena. Scott Hervey and Josh Escovedo discuss this case on this episode of The Briefing by the IP Law Blog. Watch this episode on the Weintraub YouTube channel, here.

The recent Reilly v. Wozniak 9th Circuit decision upheld a 1950s ruling that requires a promise to pay to be present for an implied contract to exist. Scott Hervey and Josh Escovedo discuss this case and how the Desny decision applies to idea theft cases in California in this episode of The Briefing by the IP Law Blog. Watch this episode on the Weintraub YouTube channel here. Show Notes: S: In a previous episode we discussed recent applications of the 1950 case, Desny v Wilder, which set the g...

The Supreme Court will bring finality to several IP disputes this year. Scott Hervey and Josh Escovedo provide an overview of the trademark and copyright cases to watch on this episode of The Briefing by the IP Law Blog. Watch this episode on the Weintraub YouTube channel here. Show Notes: Josh: It’s always good to start off the year with an overview of the trademark and copyright cases to watch for the year. This year, we have a couple of cases that we’ve previously discussed on The Briefing ...

The start of a new year is a good opportunity for companies to review and take stock of their intellectual property assets. Scott Hervey and Josh Escovedo talk about the importance of this review on this episode of The Briefing by the IP Law Blog. Watch this episode on the Weintraub YouTube channel here. Show Notes: Scott: As 2023 commences, it’s time for companies to take review and take stock of their intellectual property assets. This applies to companies that have never taken serious step...

Trademarks perform a number of important functions. Scott Hervey and Josh Escovedo discuss the spectrum of trademark strength in this episode of The Briefing by the IP Law Blog. Watch this episode here. Show Notes: Scott: Trademarks perform a number of important functions. They are consumer road signs; they tell consumers which products to buy. They are a company’s public persona; they epitomize of all the positive (and negative) qualities of a company or a product. Lastly, trademarks represe...

An 11th Circuit Opinion in the ‘Floribama Shore’ trademark case provides guidance on establishing artistic relevance under the Rogers Test. Scott Hervey and Josh Escovedo talk about this case in this episode of The Briefing by the IP Law Blog. Watch this episode here. Show Notes: Scott: Despite challenges to the application of the Rogers test outside of traditional artistic works, the Rogers test remains a valuable defense to TV and movie producers sued for trademark infringement. Establishing...