Great 8’s and Numeric Trademark DebatesBy Michael J. WeilIntellectual Property, June 2025On April 22, 2024, legendary NASCAR driver Dale Earnhardt Jr. filed a trademark consisting of “a stylized number 8” (“EIGHT”) to be used on clothing, toys, and entertainment services pertaining to auto racing. Fast-forward to April 2, 2025, when another prominent sports figure associated with the number 8—two-time NFL Most Valuable Player Lamar Jackson—filed an opposition at the USPTO, attempting to block registration of Earnhardt’s EIGHT mark. Specifically, Jackson contended that his previously filed ERA 8 and ERA 8 BY LAMAR JACKSON word marks and ERA 8 BY LAMAR JACKSON design mark precluded registration of Earnhardt’s EIGHT mark.
Intellectual Improbabilities™By Daniel KeganIntellectual Property, June 2025Updates on trademarks, copyrights, patents, and much more.
Multi-Factor Authentication is No Longer Optional for Legal ProfessionalsBy Brandon P. WoudenbergIntellectual Property, June 2025This article emphasizes that multi-factor authentication (MFA) is essential for legal professionals, not just a 'best practice.' It highlights the increasing cyber threats in the legal industry and the need for attorneys to protect clients' data. It offers simple MFA options and discusses the risks of not using this security feature. Ultimately, the minor inconvenience of setting up MFA is worthwhile for the protection it provides against data breaches, reputational damage, malpractice claims, and disciplinary issues.
Protecting Nature’s Secrets: How IP Fights BiopiracyBy Amer AlnasserIntellectual Property, June 2025Companies often look to nature for inspiration, whether it’s plants with healing powers or unique microorganisms. However, when they use these resources without fair compensation to the communities that have preserved them for centuries, it’s called biopiracy. This practice not only exploits indigenous knowledge but also threatens biodiversity.
Rural Illinois Data Center Boom: Landowners, Are You Ready?By Ruth RobinsonIntellectual Property, June 2025Tech companies, including Meta, are pressing into unexpected parts of the country, on the hunt for huge swaths of flat land that have access to natural gas and transmission lines. Sleepy parts of Illinois, with large tracts of farmland that have nearby infrastructure to support the huge electricity demand that data centers require, are being shopped right now. The boom is on.
Deepfakes in the Courtroom: Problems and SolutionsBy George BellasIntellectual Property, March 2025“Deepfakes” are altered or completely fabricated AI-generated images, audio, or video, that are also extremely realistic, making them difficult to discern from reality. In a sense, they’re AI’s version of photoshopping. Lawyers need to educate themselves and their firms on what deepfakes are and how to spot them, develop a healthy skepticism of content they encounter, and question its source. Take nothing at face value, and closely scrutinize details of that content to look for anything inconsistent with reality, such as people with more or less than five fingers.
Inherent Federal Court Sanctioning AuthorityBy Jeffrey A. ParnessIntellectual Property, March 2025In Keyes Law Firm, LLC v. Napoli, (4th Cir. 2024), the court provided primers on the inherent sanctioning authority of federal courts for civil litigation misconduct and on the guidelines for determining related attorney fee awards. In doing so, it recognized that some problematic state court conduct could prompt federal court sanctions and that the fee award norms for such conduct should differ from those employed in many fee-shifting statutes.
Intellectual Improbabilities™By Daniel KeganIntellectual Property, March 2025Updates on trademarks, copyrights, patents, and much more.
More Copyright Kryptonite for Superman, and Another Famous Character’s IP Rights in the NewsBy Margo Lynn Hablutzel, J.D., LLM, CISSPIntellectual Property, March 2025In his world, Superman is often in the news for stopping wars, preventing buildings from falling on people, and taking ill children on world tours. In our world, except for movie box office receipts, the main time Superman is in the news is when copyright and trademark issues arise. So it was earlier this year, when outlets reported on a lawsuit filed in the Southern District of New York by the executor of the estate of Joseph Shuster, one of the creators of the Man of Steel. The lawsuit claimed that DC Comics, DC Entertainment, and others were violating the estate’s foreign copyrights in the character.
PTO Alternative FilingBy Daniel KeganIntellectual Property, March 2025This article contains previews of forms from the Trademark Electronic Application System (TEAS).
Public Domain Day 2025 ReportBy Margo Lynn Hablutzel, J.D., LLM, CISSPIntellectual Property, March 2025Public Domain Day began as an informal observance in 2004 and since has become formal recognition of works falling into the public domain due to age. The rule of Public Domain Day is simple: works more than 95 years old (100 years for sound recordings) fall into the public domain and are no longer protectible by copyright.
Queen Anne’s Revenge: Government Copyright Creators and Government CopiersBy David C. BrezinaIntellectual Property, March 2025This article comments only on the availability and publication of government-conducted, contracted, or funded information. Premises predating the writing of the Constitution favor public access to information—consistent with the availability of science to enable better science, as opposed to royal suppression long predating the U.S. Constitution.
Can You Register a Country Name for Trademark?By Margo Lynn Hablutzel, J.D., LLM, CISSPIntellectual Property, December 2024An explanation of why Sweden filed for a trademark registration in its name.
Intellectual Improbabilities™By Daniel KeganIntellectual Property, December 2024Updates on trademarks, copyrights, patents, and much more.
Intra-Third-Party Squabble Results in Sixth Circuit Opinion Applying Lanham Act to Political MarksBy Jonathan PhillipsIntellectual Property, December 2024The United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit recently tackled a dispute whether a breakaway faction of Michigan's Libertarian Party could use the Libertarian National Committee's trademark and present themselves as the official Michigan affiliate.The court upheld a preliminary injunction barring it, generally, but allowed the breakaway to continue soliciting donations with the mark with its clear disclaimers which prevented consumer confusion.
AI and Law: An Opportunity to Improve Legal PracticeBy Damien RiehlIntellectual Property, September 2024Recent exponential leaps in advanced large language models have presented both opportunities and challenges that have the capacity to reshape the legal landscape.
Read the Contract Before You SignBy David C. BrezinaIntellectual Property, September 2024A cautionary tale from four cases that remind practitioners to "read the contract."
Association Intellectual Property LawBy Daniel KeganIntellectual Property, June 2024An overview of some of the legal issues that may impact associations.
Bankruptcy Sale or Termination of Copyrights. Which One Rules?By Beverly A. Berneman & Victoria R. LiebermanCommercial Banking, Collections, and Bankruptcy, June 2024A battle between a record company and the members and heirs of a famous rap group is brewing in the Southern District of Florida. The primary issue is whether an author’s ability to terminate a transfer of rights under the Copyright Act is negated by a bankruptcy court order permitting a sale of the author’s works.
Bankruptcy Sale or Termination of Copyrights. Which One Rules?By Beverly A. Berneman & Victoria R. LiebermanCorporate Law Departments, June 2024A battle between a record company and the members and heirs of a famous rap group is brewing in the Southern District of Florida. The primary issue is whether an author’s ability to terminate a transfer of rights under the Copyright Act is negated by a bankruptcy court order permitting a sale of the author’s works.
Intellectual Improbabilities™By Daniel KeganIntellectual Property, June 2024An eclectic gathering of recent intellectual property developments.
Marching Forward: How NIH’s Proposed Framework Could Reshape the Bayh-Dole Act’s Use of March-in RightsBy Anthony J. Wenn, Frank Brefo, & Sarah DunkleyIntellectual Property, June 2024In December 2023, the National Institute of Standards and Technology released a draft framework that includes price as a factor for encorcing "march-in" rights under the Bayh-Dole Act. If implemented, this framework marks a significant policy shift, making it clear that the government can effectively recapture the exclusive rights of technology derived from federally funded research if the price of a product is deemed too high.
