Episodes

103
Jan. 6, 2023

Supreme Court Takes Up Jack Daniel’s-Bad Spaniels Trademark Dispute

The Supreme Court granted Jack Daniel’s petition for certiorari and will hear the trademark infringement case involving a parody dog chew toy that resembles the Jack Daniel’s Whiskey Bottle. Scott Hervey and Josh Escovedo discuss this latest development in this episode of The Briefing by the IP Law Blog. Watch this episode here.
102
Dec. 30, 2022

The Yonays Take the First Sortie in Copyright Fight With Paramount Over Top Gun Maverick

The heirs of the author who wrote an article upon which “Top Gun” is based, claims the film’s sequel is an infringing derivative work. Paramount has since filed a motion to dismiss the case. Scott Hervey and Josh Escovedo discuss this on The Briefing by the IP Law Blog. Watch this episode here. Show Notes: Scott: We previously reported on the copyright lawsuit filed by the heirs of the author who wrote an article upon which Top Gun is based alleging that “Top Gun Maverick” is an infringing der...
101
Dec. 23, 2022

After 70 Years, Supreme Court Will Once Again Weigh in on The Exterritorial Reach of Lanham Act

The U.S. Supreme Court will weigh in on the reach of the Lanham Act and whether it can protect against the infringement of a U.S. trademark in a foreign territory. Scott Hervey and Josh Escovedo discuss this case in this episode of The Briefing by the IP Law Blog. Watch this episode here. Show Notes: Scott: What’s the reach of the Lanham act? Can it protect against the infringement of a U.S. trademark in a foreign territory? The U.S. Supreme Court is taking up the appeal of a 10th Cir case of ...
100
Dec. 16, 2022

Jack Nicklaus Companies Landed Hole-In-One With Court’s Recent Injunction

In this 100th episode of The Briefing by the IP Law Blog, Scott Hervey and Josh Escovedo talk about a company founded by Jack Nicklaus that was awarded a preliminary injunction enjoining him from using his name, image, & likeness in commercial endorsement deals. Watch this episode here. Show Notes: Scott: A company founded by Jack Nicklaus, Nicklaus Companies, LLC has been awarded a preliminary injunction which enjoins Jack Nicklaus from using his name, image and likeness in commercial endor...
99
Dec. 9, 2022

The Sneakerhead Breakup of the Century – Yeezy and Adidas

Adidas, which manufactures and sells the wildly popular “Yeezy” line of shoes in partnership with rapper Kanye West, recently terminated the relationship after anti-Semitic statements by the star. In this episode of The Briefing by the IP Law Blog, Scott Hervey and Josh Escovedo discuss the trademark and contract issues that Adidas is navigating with shoe designs and future related designs. Watch the video here. Read the Adidas press release here. Show notes: Josh: Following its split from r...
98
Dec. 2, 2022

Vogue Sues 21 Savage and Drake Over Imitation Vogue Cover Marketing Campaign

Vogue Magazine is suing 21 Savage and Drake after they created mock Vogue Magazines to market their new album. Scott Hervey and Josh Escovedo discuss the dispute on this episode of The Briefing by the IP Law Blog. Watch this episode here. Show Notes: Josh: Conde Nast, the publisher of Vogue magazine, filed a Complaint against Drake and 21 Savage in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York, alleging claims under the Lanham Act concerning Drake and 21 Savage’s prom...
96
Nov. 23, 2022

Law Firm’s Suit Against Namesake Provides Two Important Trademark Lessons

A law firm has filed a trademark infringement lawsuit against its namesake. Scott Hervey and Josh Escovedo discuss this case in this installment of The Briefing by the IP Law Blog. Watch this episode here. Show Notes: Scott: Lewis Brisbois Bisgaard & Smith, LLP is suing Lewis Brisbois Bisgaard & Smith, LLP in a Texas federal court for trademark infringement. No, this is not law firm schizophrenia. But it is a weird case that may exemplify the strength of common law trademark rights. Scott: ...
95
Nov. 18, 2022

Cardi B Makes Money Moves with the Jury and Prevails in IP Trial

Cardi B was cleared of liability in an action alleging that she misappropriated a man’s likeness by using his unique back tattoo on the cover of her 2016 mixtape. Scott Hervey and Josh Escovedo discuss this in this installment of The Briefing by the IP Law Blog. Watch this episode here. Show Notes: Josh: Rap star Cardi B has been cleared of liability by a California jury in the Central District in the action alleging that she misappropriated a man’s likeness by using his unique back tattoo on...
94
Nov. 10, 2022

Hermès Tries to Bag Digital Designer Selling MetaBirkin NFTs

Hermès is suing an artist for trademark infringement over his series of digital artworks called MetaBirkins. Scott Hervey and Josh Escovedo discuss the case on this episode of The Briefing by the IP Law Blog. Watch this episode on the Weintraub YouTube channel here.
93
Nov. 4, 2022

NBA Star Luka Doncic Goes Hard in the Paint and Seeks to Cancel Mom’s Trademark (Part 2)

In this episode of The Briefing by the IP Law Blog, Scott Hervey and Josh Escovedo discuss developments in the trademark dispute between NBA star Luka Doncic and his mother. Watch this episode here.
92
Oct. 28, 2022

NBA Star Luka Doncic Goes Hard in the Paint and Seeks to Cancel Mom’s Trademark (Part 1)

In this episode of The Briefing by the IP Law Blog, Scott Hervey and Josh Escovedo discuss a trademark dispute between NBA Star Luka Doncic and his mother. Watch this episode here.
91
Oct. 21, 2022

Tattoo Artist Copyright Win Will Create Uncertainty Over Celebrities with Tattoos

As Scott Hervey previously wrote on the IP Law Blog, a tattoo artist won a copyright lawsuit against a video game publisher for showcasing an athlete with their tattoo design in a game. Scott and Josh Escovedo discuss the case on this episode of The Briefing. Watch this episode here. Read Scott’s article here. Show Notes: Scott: A jury in the district court for the southern district of Illinois in the case of Alexander v. Take-Two Interactive Software found that the depiction of tattoos on wre...
90
Oct. 16, 2022

Titania v. She-Hulk: Trademark Infringement in the Marvel Universe

In this episode of The Briefing by the IP Law Blog, Scott Hervey and Josh Escovedo discuss a recent episode of Marvel’s “She-Hulk: Attorney at Law” and the accuracy of a trademark infringement case featured on the show. Watch this video here. Show Notes: Josh: The last few weeks, every Thursday night in my household, we sit down to watch the latest episode of She-Hulk on Disney+. Full disclosure, we consume every bit of content that the Marvel cinematic universe puts out. I have been waiting...
89
Oct. 7, 2022

Defamation by Docudrama – Inventing Anna

In this episode of The Briefing by the IP Law Blog, Scott Hervey and Josh Escovedo discuss a defamation dispute between Rachel Williams – a victim of con artist Anna Sorokin – and Netflix, over her portrayal in the docudrama “Inventing Anna.” Watch this episode here. Show Notes: Scott: Netflix finds itself mired in yet another defamation and false light lawsuit, this one brought on by its portrayal of Rachel Williams, the Vanity Fair photo editor who’s friendship with Anna Delvey – who passed ...
88
Sept. 30, 2022

The Essential Purpose of the Short Form Copyright Assignment (Archive)

In this archive episode of The Briefing by the IP Law Blog, Scott Hervey and Josh Escovedo explain the importance of short-form copyright assignment agreements. Read more about this topic here.
87
Sept. 23, 2022

Paramount is Ready to Dogfight in Top Gun Maverick Copyright Lawsuit

In this episode of The Briefing by the IP Law Blog, Scott Hervey and Josh Escovedo discuss Paramount’s motion to dismiss a copyright infringement lawsuit relating to ‘Top Gun: Maverick.’ Watch this episode here. Show Notes: Scott: Paramount came into the Top Gun Maverick copyright lawsuit guns hot by filing a motion to dismiss claiming that the sequel to the 1986 motion picture, Top Gun, does not infringe the copyright in Ehud Yonay’s magazine article. We are going to talk about this… Scott: ...
86
Sept. 16, 2022

Evel Knievel IP Lawsuit Against Disney Crashes and Burns

In this episode of The Briefing by the IP Law Blog, Scott Hervey and Josh Escovedo provide an update on the IP dispute between the heirs of Evel Knievel and Disney, over claims of similarities between the late daredevil and the “Toy Story 4” character Duke Caboom. Watch this episode here. Show Notes: Josh The Ninth Circuit refused to revive a lawsuit filed by Evel Knievel’s son alleging that Disney infringed his company’s intellectual property and publicity rights associated with Evel Knievel ...
85
Sept. 9, 2022

Mattel Isn’t Toying Around About Nicki Minaj Barbie-Que Chips

In this episode of The Briefing by the IP Law Blog, Scott Hervey and Josh Escovedo discuss a Trademark dispute between toy maker Mattel and Rap Snacks after the snack company launched ‘Barbie-Que Chips’ in collaboration with rapper Nicki Minaj. Watch this episode here. Show Notes: Josh: The toy maker Mattel has filed an action against Rap Snacks in the United States District Court for the Central District of California for trademark infringement. Specifically, Mattel claims that Rap Snacks’ p...
84
Sept. 2, 2022

Fox Wins Another Copyright Lawsuit Over ‘Empire’ Character

In this episode of The Briefing by the IP Law Blog, Scott Hervey and Josh Escovedo discuss an author’s copyright lawsuit against Fox and the producers of ‘Empire,’ alleging one of the show’s characters was inspired by her biography. Watch this episode here.
83
Aug. 26, 2022

Miami Dolphins Coach Gets Sacked on Motion to Dismiss

In this episode of The Briefing by the IP Law Blog, Scott Hervey and Josh Escovedo discuss a copyright infringement dispute between a sports psychologist and Miami Dolphins defensive back coach Gerald Alexander. Watch this episode here.
82
Aug. 19, 2022

Unofficial Bridgerton Musical – Fair Use or Infringing Fan Fiction

In this episode of The Briefing by the IP Law Blog, Scott Hervey and Josh Escovedo discuss an intellectual property dispute between Netflix and two digital content creators who wrote a musical inspired by the hit Netflix series, Bridgerton. Watch this episode on the Weintraub YouTube channel, here.
81
Aug. 12, 2022

NY Court Catches Bieber Fever, Denying RHODE NYC’s Motion for Preliminary Injunction

In this episode of The Briefing by the IP Law Blog, Scott Hervey and Josh Escovedo discuss a Trademark Infringement Lawsuit filed by the clothing brand RHODE NYC against Hailey Beiber’s new skincare line RHODE. Watch this episode, here.
80
Aug. 4, 2022

Is the Server Test Ready for a Reboot?

In this episode of The Briefing by the IP Law Blog, Weintraub attorneys Scott Hervey and Josh Escovedo discuss the impact of Alexis Hunley, et al v. Instagram, LLC on copyright law, specifically on the Server Test. Considered one of the top copyright cases to watch, Hunley deals with the practice of “embedding” and its copyright implications. Watch the video of this episode here. Read Scott’s blog post about this case on The IP Law Blog.
79
July 29, 2022

Seattle Space Needle Pokes at Local Coffee Shop’s Logo

In this episode of The Briefing by the IP Law Blog, Scott Hervey and Josh Escovedo discuss a trademark infringement dispute between the Seattle Space Needle and a local coffee shop over the cafe’s use of the Space needle’s image in its logo. Watch this episode on Weintraub’s YouTube channel, here.