Did you know that the basis for U.S. patents go all the way back to the U.S. Constitution? If you didn’t know, now you know: Article I, Section 8, of the Constitution vests the Federal Government with the power to grant patents: “To promote the Progress of Science and useful...
Just over a month ago, FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried was running one of the world’s largest crypto-currency exchanges and hobnobbing at conferences with the likes of Bill Clinton. Celebrities and athletes, from Larry David to Tom Brady, appeared in FTX advertisements. The FTX name was everywhere, including on the Miami Heat’s...
RPJ partner Nicole Page will be featured in Women Make Movies’ (WMM) upcoming webinar series The Business of Film Production. The series is designed to guide both first feature and seasoned independent filmmakers as they navigate legal, accounting and business issues that may arise. Ms. Page, who is also Board...
A pre-pandemic survey by the Economic Policy Institute in 2019 concluded that approximately one-half of all workplaces in the United States require at least some employees to enter into a non-compete agreement.[1] A lot has changed since, and a lot fewer people will be “on the beach” in times to...
In a grand gesture of altruism within our otherwise fiercely capitalist climate, leaders of industry in the fields of medicine and technology, such as Amazon, Facebook and Microsoft, have voluntarily relinquished their exclusive rights to their intellectual property in an effort to combat COVID-19 as part of the Open COVID...
Earlier this month, New York federal district court Judge Laura Taylor Swain denied a motion to dismiss a case filed by Sketchworks Industrial Strength Comedy Inc. seeking to obtain the court’s preemptive declaration that its musical Vape, which it created as an alleged parody of the musical Grease, constitutes “fair...
We are pleased to announce that RPJ Partner Deena R. Merlen, who heads RPJ’s Connecticut practice, has been appointed as Chair of the Connecticut Chapter of the Licensing Executives Society (LES) of the USA and Canada, an independent professional organization that facilitates global intellectual property commerce through education, networking, standards...
A licensor of copyrighted software is often faced with two potential pathways for a claim that the copyrighted material was misappropriated: (1) a claim under the Copyright Act or (2) a claim for breach of the licensing agreement. A recent decision from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second...
Intellectual Property litigation partner Larry Brocchini will be one of several attorneys representing Fossil, Inc. and Macy’s, Inc. in a matter to be briefed and argued before the United States Supreme Court when the Court reconvenes in the fall of 2019. The issue before the Supreme Court is the interpretation...
Recent developments in the copyright infringement lawsuit brought by Alfonso Ribeiro, known for playing Carlton on The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, against video game maker Epic Games confirm the questions raised in my prior post as to whether Ribeiro could register a copyright in the Carlton dance and bring a...