Weekly IP Buzz for the week ending November 23, 2018

Here’s a summary of interesting developments in intellectual property, technology, social media, and Internet law for the week ending November 23, 2018.

Chilling Adventures of Sabrina Series Leads to Netflix Suit for Trademark and Copyright Infringement

Netflix made waves in the intellectual property news this month but not its usual reasons. Instead of more news about Netflix’s recent licensing deals or television show wrangling, headlines broke about a recent lawsuit against Netflix regarding one of its original series, Chilling Adventures of Sabrina.

In a recent lawsuit filed by the Satanic Temple, Netflix was sued for both trademark and copyright violations. The Satanic Temple is a New York City-based religions organization that prides itself on protecting any blurring of the separation between church and state in the United States. In other words, they are often a protest group that will protest any type of gesture made by federal or local governments that seem to promote religion.

At the heart of the lawsuit is a statue commissioned by the Satanic Temple that cost about $30,000 and was completed in 2014. Although the group unsuccessfully tried to donate it to a state government, the statue ultimately ended becoming a sort of protest symbol that the group would use in other targeted campaigns.

Netflix inadvertently became involved in the situation when it allegedly copied the statue, full scale, for incorporation into its original series. Having not been contacted for use or licensing rights, the Satanic Temple suspects that a production member of the Chilling Adventures of Sabrina may have simply instigated an Internet search for satanic statutes and ended up having the design department copy the statute wholesale, assuming, wrongly, that its likeness or rights were already in the public domain.

A costly lesson could be learned with the use of the statue in the Chilling Adventures of Sabrina. Creative artists should be aware of the importance of attribution, licensing, and distinction from fair use.

Read more here.

Sensory Marks: Hasbro Trademarks Signature Play-Doh Scent

While the U.S. Trademark Office has long allowed the trademarking of scents and smells as sensory marks, few companies apply to have scents trademarked because the application can be difficult to complete and because few companies find it necessary to enforce such trademarks.

This year, Hasbro made news by filing a trademark application to protect the scent of Play-Doh. Although Play-Doh has been around for over two decades, Hasbro only recently decided to file for federal protection of the product.

Because the trademarking of scents is rare, discussion about the process should be examined. Like all trademarks, the applicant must successfully describe the trademark in protectible terms to the trademark examiner. Basically, Hasbro had to describe the scent in a way that was protectible. In this case, Hasbro described the scent as “a sweet, slightly musky, vanilla fragrance, with slight overtones of cherry, combined with the smell of a salted, wheat-based dough.”

Like applications to protect sounds, applications for scents fall under the category of sensory marks. The U.S. Trademark Office (USPTO) defines sensory marks as goods that are not physical, but instead, are a sound, feel, or scent that the applicant wishes to protect. Generally, applicants will protect sensory marks in order to ensure that all aspects of particular intellectual property is protected.

Find the full article here.

Click to read last week's Weekly IP Buzz. View on LinkedIn.

For more posts, see our Intellectual Property Law Blog.

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Darin M. Klemchuk is founder of Klemchuk LLP, a litigation, intellectual property, and business law firm located in Dallas, Texas. He also co-founded Project K, a charitable movement devoted to changing the world one random act of kindness at a time, and publishes Thriving Attorney, a blog dedicated to exploring the business of the practice of law, productivity and performance for attorneys, and other topics such as law firm leadership and management, law firm culture, and business development for attorneys.

Click to learn more about Darin M. Klemchuk's law practice as an intellectual property lawyer.

Weekly IP Buzz for the week ending November 16, 2018

Here's a summary of interesting developments in intellectual property, technology, social media, and Internet law for the week ending November 16, 2018.

Proposed Australian Privacy Bill Raises Privacy Concerns

While the United States continues to struggle to pass any type of overarching and complete data privacy regulation or legislation, U.S. companies have often had to rely on, or conform to, foreign regulations regarding data security. The most famous example of this comes from the European Union’s passage of the General Data Protection Regulation (“GDPR”). Most privacy experts, domestic and abroad, have lauded the European Union’s creation of the GDPR because it provides strict privacy protection and promises hefty fines for technology companies that fail to safeguard consumer data. Technology giants like Facebook have already faced heavy scrutiny under the GDPR with its recent breach potentially costing it billions in fines. 

Australia’s recent foray into data security legislation, however, has raised concern among privacy experts because it effectively requires technology companies to incorporate backdoor access into their products and applications in order to allow government agencies and services to quickly access and search through consumer data. In its current form, the bill does not require companies who include the requisite backdoor access to notify consumers of the existence of such government accessibility.

Find the full article here.

Congressman Pens Privacy Bill of Rights

Representative Ro Khanna from California has penned a list of ten guiding principles that he hopes to serve as an Internet Privacy Bill of Rights aimed at protecting the privacy of consumers online.

The proposed bill calls for Internet neutrality, the consumers’ right to choose Internet service providers, an overhaul and greater transparency in the policies of how data is collected by technology companies, requirements to opt-in and provide consent for data collection, and timely notification by companies if security breaches occur. Many consumers and lawmakers alike agree that a federal law overseeing how companies handle consumers’ privacy and data rights is long overdue in the United States.

Read more here. 

Click to read last week's Weekly IP Buzz. View on LinkedIn.

For more posts, see our Intellectual Property Law Blog.

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Darin M. Klemchuk is founder of Klemchuk LLP, a litigation, intellectual property, and business law firm located in Dallas, Texas. He also co-founded Project K, a charitable movement devoted to changing the world one random act of kindness at a time, and publishes Thriving Attorney, a blog dedicated to exploring the business of the practice of law, productivity and performance for attorneys, and other topics such as law firm leadership and management, law firm culture, and business development for attorneys.

Click to learn more about Darin M. Klemchuk's law practice as an intellectual property lawyer.

Weekly IP Buzz for the week ending November 9, 2018

Here is a summary of interesting developments in intellectual property, technology, social media, and Internet law for the week ending November 9, 2018.

Trademarking Fruit? About Apple Trademarks

McIntosh, Granny Smith, and Pink Lady are all apple trademarks. Consumers have long been supporting apple trademarks and clubs without even noticing that apples are often sold under their specific trademarks, unlike most other produce. In the past few years, the rise of apple trademarks and apple clubs have resulted in an increase in the variety of apples available at supermarkets. Most of the substantial differences are related to intellectual property rights, however, and not due to significant differences in the look, flavor, or genetic history of the apples.

Unlike most produce, apples are one of the few produce items that are sold and distinguished by cultivar name, which means that consumers will actually pay more for varieties based on their apple trademark name, because of a belief that specific varieties offer unique qualities in taste, color, and flavor. The concept of owning intellectual property rights in produce has existed since the mid-20th century when, for example, apple tree growers began to spend money in growing specific varieties to better profit or sustain easier crop growth.

Find the full article on apple trademarks here.

Nestlé Disputes Potentially Infringing Third Party Trademark Use

Food giant Nestlé has filed a complaint in federal court against a competitor for allegedly infringing upon its LEAN POCKETS® and HOT POCKETS® trademarks. According to the complaint, a New York company operated by Gigi Anthony (“Anthony”) has been selling and promoting food products under the name “Pizza Pocket,” “Pizza Pockets,” and “Russo’s Gluten Free Pizza Pockets.”

Anthony’s food products, which consist of filled-sandwich products, are allegedly infringing upon Nestlé’s HOT POCKETS® and LEAN POCKETS® products and trademarks because Nestlé has long offered a pizza-filled sandwich product under both the LEAN POCKETS® and HOT POCKETS® trademarks. 

Read more here. 

Click to read last week's Weekly IP Buzz. View on LinkedIn.

For more posts, see our Intellectual Property Law Blog.

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Darin M. Klemchuk is founder of Klemchuk LLP, a litigation, intellectual property, and business law firm located in Dallas, Texas. He also co-founded Project K, a charitable movement devoted to changing the world one random act of kindness at a time, and publishes Thriving Attorney, a blog dedicated to exploring the business of the practice of law, productivity and performance for attorneys, and other topics such as law firm leadership and management, law firm culture, and business development for attorneys.

Click to learn more about Darin M. Klemchuk's law practice as an intellectual property lawyer.

Weekly IP Buzz for the week ending November 2, 2018

Here's a summary of interesting developments in intellectual property, technology, social media, and Internet law for the week ending November 2, 2018.

Trademark Strategies for Smaller Businesses

When small companies and brands begin to open their doors, they often overlook the importance of trademark registration and enforcement due to either unawareness or an unwillingness to budget for intellectual property protection. However, having trademark strategies at the forefront can help save a business money and help prevent potential conflicts in the future. While most small companies may not have patents to worry about protecting, almost all companies should look into trademarking, at the very least, their company name or brand.

What follows are three core trademark strategies that every small business owner should consider regarding trademark protection.

First: Before any goods or services are ever sold, the brand owner or company should consider engaging counsel to conduct a trademark clearance search.

Second: If a cease-and-desist is received, business owners should be aware of the best strategies to employ to reach advantageous settlements.

Third: Small businesses should seek trademark registration protection of their best brands and products.

Read full article on trademark strategies here for smaller businesses.

Whataburger Versus Wonder Woman

With the reemergence of Wonder Woman in popular media, Texas hamburger chain Whataburger has found itself embroiled in a potential trademark dispute with DC Comics over the ubiquitous “W” logo.

With the resurgence in Wonder Woman’s marketability and popularity, DC Comics has now filed for a number of new uses for the Wonder Woman logo. The new applications now cover a new range of goods that vary from bubble gum to sports drinks. With this recent foray into food and beverages, Whataburger states that they have contacted DC Comics to discuss their respective intellectual property rights and marketing channels.

Read more here.

Click to read last week's Weekly IP Buzz. Read on LinkedIn.

For more posts, see our Intellectual Property Law Blog.

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Darin M. Klemchuk is founder of Klemchuk LLP, a litigation, intellectual property, and transactional law firm located in Dallas, Texas. He also co-founded Project K, a charitable movement devoted to changing the world one random act of kindness at a time, and publishes Thriving Attorney, a blog dedicated to exploring the business of the practice of law, productivity and performance for attorneys, and other topics such as law firm leadership and management, law firm culture, and business development for attorneys.

Click to learn more about Darin M. Klemchuk's law practice as an intellectual property lawyer.

Weekly IP Buzz for the week ending October 26, 2018

Here's a summary of interesting developments in intellectual property, technology, social media, and Internet law for the week ending October 26, 2018.

Amazon Files New Patent to Detect Emotions   

Amazon has filed a new patent entitled “Voice-based determination of physical and emotional characteristics of users” to cover technology that works on the premise that “a current physical and/or emotional condition of the user may facilitate the ability to provide highly targeted audio content, such as audio advertisements or prompts, to the user.” Essentially, the invention would allow virtual assistants like Alexa to detect emotions of its users.

Amazon says that the technology covered by the patent is designed to not only detect emotions of users, but will be able to adapt to learn users’ emotions. Amazon believes that this technology and patent will also cover Alexa’s ability to recognize accents, which will allow the virtual assistant to predict if a specific user may want to access information or products from abroad. 

As technology advances, technology and data counsel should monitor patent filings, such as the aforementioned invention geared to detect emotions, to stay abreast of new technology that will require companies to take additional measures for handling private information when they collect such sensitive data.

Find the full article here.

How Much Does Your Virtual Assistant Know About You?

Amazon recently had to answer to the U.S. Senate after it was confirmed that a product in their virtual assistant line, the Amazon Echo, recorded and then forwarded a private, household conversation to a third party.

While there are technical disagreements between the household and Amazon over whether the recording and forwarding of the conversation was unauthorized, Amazon has now had to answer to Congress regarding privacy concerns that have arisen over the incident.

“Alexa” is not the only assistant accused of spying on us. In 2017, a reporter caught a Google Home Mini virtual assistant not only recording happenings in his household but sending that information back to Google. Google, in response, issued a firmware update to their virtual assistant devices to address the issue.

Read more here.

Click to read last week's Weekly IP Buzz. Read on LinkedIn.

For more posts, see our Intellectual Property Law Blog.

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Darin M. Klemchuk is founder of Klemchuk LLP, a litigation, intellectual property, and transactional law firm located in Dallas, Texas. He also co-founded Project K, a charitable movement devoted to changing the world one random act of kindness at a time, and publishes Thriving Attorney, a blog dedicated to exploring the business of the practice of law, productivity and performance for attorneys, and other topics such as law firm leadership and management, law firm culture, and business development for attorneys.

Click to learn more about Darin M. Klemchuk’s law practice as an intellectual property lawyer.

Weekly IP Buzz for the week ending October 19, 2018

Here's a summary of interesting developments in intellectual property, technology, social media, and Internet law for the week ending October 19, 2018.

Congressman Pens Internet Privacy Bill of Rights   

Representative Ro Khanna from California has penned a list of ten guiding principles that he hopes to serve as an Internet Privacy Bill of Rights aimed at protecting the privacy of consumers online.

The proposed bill calls for Internet neutrality, the consumers’ right to choose Internet service providers, an overhaul and greater transparency in the policies of how data is collected by technology companies, requirements to opt-in and provide consent for data collection, and timely notification by companies if security breaches occur.

Many consumers and lawmakers alike agree that a federal law overseeing how companies handle consumers’ privacy and data rights is long overdue in the United States.

Read the ten drafted items of the Privacy Bill of Rights and article here.

California Consumer Privacy Act Takes Effect in 2020

California made history recently by passing the California Consumer Privacy Act after unanimous agreement between the California State Assembly and State Senate. While the new 2018 law will not take effect until 2020, both consumers and technology companies in California are deeply concerned about what the new law entails.

With the passage of the California Consumer Privacy Act, California now boasts the most stringent data privacy protection laws in the United States. As such, the state government chose to specifically postpone full enactment of the law until 2020 in order to give both consumers and companies significant time to understand the new rights, expectations, and responsibilities for both communities. California legislators state that their intention in passing the law was to give consumers much more significant control over the dissemination, collection, and sale of their personal data online.

Read more here.

Click to read last week's Weekly IP Buzz. Read on LinkedIn.

For more posts, see our Intellectual Property Law Blog.

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Darin M. Klemchuk is founder of Klemchuk LLP, a litigation, intellectual property, and transactional law firm located in Dallas, Texas. He also co-founded Project K, a charitable movement devoted to changing the world one random act of kindness at a time, and publishes Thriving Attorney, a blog dedicated to exploring the business of the practice of law, productivity and performance for attorneys, and other topics such as law firm leadership and management, law firm culture, and business development for attorneys.

Click to learn more about Darin M. Klemchuk’s law practice as an intellectual property lawyer.

Weekly IP Buzz for the week ending October 12, 2018

Here's a summary of interesting developments in intellectual property, technology, social media, and Internet law for the week ending October 12, 2018.

Facebook Hacking Incident Reignites Privacy Debate

Recently Facebook reported that over 50 million accounts were improperly accessed and victims of outside security breaches. The Facebook hacking incident was explained to be caused by a security breach that took advantage of Facebook’s “View As” feature, which allows users to see what their profiles would appear as when viewed as a different user.

While Facebook has since shored up the breach, the Facebook hacking incident had to be made public and has again raised questions of whether or not technology giants are truly doing enough to safehouse users’ personal data.

The United States has still not passed significant sweeping regulation that covers or provides guidance to companies regarding how personal data should be protected. However, the General Data Protection Regulation (“GDPR”) recently passed by the European Union could end up costing Facebook as much as $1.63 billion dollars if Facebook is found to be in violation of its terms. Though this regulation is European Union law, any company doing business with its citizens must comply with the regulation. Read more details here.

The Bill is Now a Law: “Music Modernization Act” Proposed to Help Songwriters

Update: The bill was signed into law on Oct. 11, 2018. In today’s day and age, it has often been difficult for the law to keep up with the ever-changing landscape of the Internet and new technological innovations. The music industry especially has been critical of the way copyrights are enforced and policed, often having to rely on suing universities or internet service providers on theories of contributory or secondary liability to enforce their copyrights or block piracy. The Music Modernization Act would mark the first revolution in copyright law, being the first to truly address technological innovation since digital music has become available. At its core, the law would rewrite how songwriters are paid when their music is licensed or even played. Read more details here.

Cybersecurity Concerns Rise Again With Vulnerable Smart Devices

As a year has passed since lawmakers first discussed the passage of sweeping litigation that would raise data-security standards across the nation, security experts have lamented the lack of recent movement and action on actually passing any relevant laws. Meanwhile, the use of vulnerable smart devices as a routine part of daily life continues to grow.

As the Internet of Things “IoT” becomes more pervasive and expands its access to more and more household devices such as thermostats, pacemakers, and shower heads, the software that these devices use to access the Internet still remains woefully inadequate in terms of data encryption and consumer privacy. Read more about the story.

Click to read last week's Weekly IP Buzz. Read on LinkedIn.

For more posts, see our Intellectual Property Law Blog.

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Darin M. Klemchuk is founder of Klemchuk LLP, a litigation, intellectual property, and transactional law firm located in Dallas, Texas. He also co-founded Project K, a charitable movement devoted to changing the world one random act of kindness at a time, and publishes Thriving Attorney, a blog dedicated to exploring the business of the practice of law, productivity and performance for attorneys, and other topics such as law firm leadership and management, law firm culture, and business development for attorneys.

Click to learn more about Darin M. Klemchuk's law practice as an intellectual property lawyer.

Patent to Treat Addiction Awarded to Opioid Manufacturer

The maker of the highly addictive OxyContin opioid painkiller has been granted a patent designed to treat opioid addiction. The patent includes a version of buprenorphine, which helps curb cravings in people addicted to opioid painkillers and/or heroin.

Purdue Pharma is the maker of Oxycotin and the Sackler family controls the company. Both parties have been the subject of much controversy as well as lawsuits due to their aggressive marketing. Critics claim the prescription drug’s popularity led to the current OxyContin opioid addiction epidemic. Earlier this year, Massachusetts filed a lawsuit against the company, directors, and Sackler family. The lawsuit is a first attempt to hold individuals responsible for the company’s marketing strategy.

Read more about patent to fight opioid addiction.

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Darin M. Klemchuk is founder of Klemchuk LLP, a litigation, intellectual property, and transactional law firm located in Dallas, Texas. He also co-founded Project K, a charitable movement devoted to changing the world one random act of kindness at a time, and publishes Thriving Attorney, a blog dedicated to exploring the business of the practice of law, productivity and performance for attorneys, and other topics such as law firm leadership and management, law firm culture, and business development for attorneys.

Click to learn more about Darin M. Klemchuk's law practice as an intellectual property lawyer.

“Music Modernization Act” to Help Songwriters

In today’s day and age, it has often been difficult for the law to keep up with the ever-changing landscape of the Internet and new technological innovations.  The music industry especially has been critical of the way copyrights are enforced and policed, often having to rely on suing universities or internet service providers on theories of contributory or secondary liability to enforce their copyrights or block piracy. This all may finally be changing, however, as Senate overwhelmingly passed the Music Modernization Act with a unanimous vote earlier this month.

Read more about the Music Modernization Act.

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Darin M. Klemchuk is founder of Klemchuk LLP, a litigation, intellectual property, and transactional law firm located in Dallas, Texas. He also co-founded Project K, a charitable movement devoted to changing the world one random act of kindness at a time, and publishes Thriving Attorney, a blog dedicated to exploring the business of the practice of law, productivity and performance for attorneys, and other topics such as law firm leadership and management, law firm culture, and business development for attorneys.

Click to learn more about Darin M. Klemchuk's law practice as an intellectual property lawyer.

Weekly IP Buzz for the week ending October 5, 2018

Here's a summary of interesting developments in intellectual property, technology, social media, and Internet law for the week ending October 5, 2018.

New Bill “Music Modernization Act” Proposed to Help Songwriters

In today’s day and age, it has often been difficult for the law to keep up with the ever-changing landscape of the Internet and new technological innovations. The music industry especially has been critical of the way copyrights are enforced and policed, often having to rely on suing universities or internet service providers on theories of contributory or secondary liability to enforce their copyrights or block piracy. This all may finally be changing, however, as Senate overwhelmingly passed the Music Modernization Act with a unanimous vote earlier this month.

The House is expected to quickly approve the bill with the intention to fast track the bill to the White House by the beginning of October. If made into law, the Music Modernization Act would mark the first revolution in copyright law, being the first to truly address technological innovation since digital music has become available. At its core, the Music Modernization Act would rewrite how songwriters are paid when their music is licensed or even played. Read more details here.

Music Industry Battles Internet Service Provider (ISP) Over Copyright Infringement

A Texas internet service provider (“ISP”) has taken to federal court to complain about the increased pressure from the music industry to monitor copyright infringement. In a federal filing, Texas ISP Grande Communications (“Grande”) has complained to federal court that record companies from the music industry have attempted to increasingly shift the burden of policing copyright infringement of their copyrighted works by abusing the use of legal takedown notices under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (“DMCA”). Read more about the story.

Click to read last week's Weekly IP Buzz. Read on LinkedIn.

For more posts, see our Intellectual Property Law Blog.

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Darin M. Klemchuk is founder of Klemchuk LLP, a litigation, intellectual property, and transactional law firm located in Dallas, Texas. He also co-founded Project K, a charitable movement devoted to changing the world one random act of kindness at a time, and publishes Thriving Attorney, a blog dedicated to exploring the business of the practice of law, productivity and performance for attorneys, and other topics such as law firm leadership and management, law firm culture, and business development for attorneys.

Click to learn more about Darin M. Klemchuk's law practice as an intellectual property lawyer.

Weekly IP Buzz for week ending September 28, 2018

Here's a summary of interesting developments in intellectual property, technology, social media, and Internet law for the week ending September 28, 2018.

Nestlé Disputes Potentially Infringing Third Party Trademark Use

Food giant Nestlé has filed a complaint in federal court against a competitor for allegedly infringing upon its LEAN POCKETS® and HOT POCKETS® trademarks. According to the complaint, a New York company operated by Gigi Anthony (“Anthony”) has been selling and promoting food products under the name “Pizza Pocket,” “Pizza Pockets,” and “Russo’s Gluten Free Pizza Pockets.”

Anthony’s food products, which consist of filled-sandwich products, are allegedly infringing upon Nestlé’s HOT POCKETS® and LEAN POCKETS® products and trademarks because Nestlé has long offered a pizza-filled sandwich product under both the LEAN POCKETS® and HOT POCKETS® trademarks. Read more about the story.

What Do Whataburger and Wonder Woman Have In Common?

With the reemergence of Wonder Woman in popular media, Texas hamburger chain Whataburger has found itself embroiled in a potential trademark dispute with DC Comics over the ubiquitous “W” logo. Read the full article, and why trademark rights protection shouldn't be hindsight.

Click to read last week's Weekly IP Buzz. Read on LinkedIn.

For more posts, see our Intellectual Property Law Blog.

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Darin M. Klemchuk is founder of Klemchuk LLP, a litigation, intellectual property, and transactional law firm located in Dallas, Texas. He also co-founded Project K, a charitable movement devoted to changing the world one random act of kindness at a time, and publishes Thriving Attorney, a blog dedicated to exploring the business of the practice of law, productivity and performance for attorneys, and other topics such as law firm leadership and management, law firm culture, and business development for attorneys.

Click to learn more about Darin M. Klemchuk's law practice as an intellectual property lawyer.

Music Industry Battles Texas ISP

A Texas internet service provider (“ISP”) has taken to federal court to complain about the increased pressure from the music industry to monitor copyright infringement.  In a federal filing, Texas ISP Grande Communications (“Grande”) has complained to federal court that record companies from the music industry have attempted to increasingly shift the burden of policing copyright infringement of their copyrighted works by abusing the use of legal takedown notices under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (“DMCA”).

Read more about music industry battle with Texas ISP.

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Darin M. Klemchuk is founder of Klemchuk LLP, a litigation, intellectual property, and transactional law firm located in Dallas, Texas. He also co-founded Project K, a charitable movement devoted to changing the world one random act of kindness at a time, and publishes Thriving Attorney, a blog dedicated to exploring the business of the practice of law, productivity and performance for attorneys, and other topics such as law firm leadership and management, law firm culture, and business development for attorneys.

Click to learn more about Darin M. Klemchuk's law practice as an intellectual property lawyer.

U.S. Patent and Trademark Office under Fire for Server Outage

The U.S. Patent Office came under fire recently due to having its servers down between August 15th through August 23rd. In an officially released statement, Andrei Iancu, Director of the U.S. Patent Office stated that the servers and electronic filing were down because they needed to conduct emergency maintenance on the technology infrastructure.

Read more about electronic filing issues with the Patent Office.

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Darin M. Klemchuk is founder of Klemchuk LLP, a litigation, intellectual property, and transactional law firm located in Dallas, Texas. He also co-founded Project K, a charitable movement devoted to changing the world one random act of kindness at a time, and publishes Thriving Attorney, a blog dedicated to exploring the business of the practice of law, productivity and performance for attorneys, and other topics such as law firm leadership and management, law firm culture, and business development for attorneys.

Click to learn more about Darin M. Klemchuk's law practice as an intellectual property lawyer.

Voting Machines Susceptible to Hacking?

DEF CON Hackers Prove Ease in Hacking Voter Machines and Government Sites

DEF CON held earlier this month in Las Vegas draws one of the largest crowds of hackers and cyber security interested parties. It is a hacker convention providing the most recent information and developments in hacking, while also allowing DEF CON hackers to show their skills in varied contests and games.

DEF CON Hackers Get Access to Voting Machine and SOS Website Replicas

This year, voter machines and government website replicas were a top interest to election officials concerned with election integrity.  With the upcoming November midterm elections, such apprehension is in the air.  The reliability of data and tampering of votes seems to always creep up as a topic of contention during elections.  However, seeing hackers easily access and manipulate data at DEF CON adds merit to the concerns.

Read more about Def Con hackers hacking voting machine websites.

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Darin M. Klemchuk is founder of Klemchuk LLP, a litigation, intellectual property, and transactional law firm located in Dallas, Texas. He also co-founded Project K, a charitable movement devoted to changing the world one random act of kindness at a time, and publishes Thriving Attorney, a blog dedicated to exploring the business of the practice of law, productivity and performance for attorneys, and other topics such as law firm leadership and management, law firm culture, and business development for attorneys.

Click to learn more about Darin M. Klemchuk's law practice as an intellectual property lawyer.

Animal Rights and Copyrights -- Zoo Sells Paintings Created By Panda Bear

Panda In A Monkey Selfie Copyright Situation?

A Vienna zoo has made headlines around the world by offering for sale paintings created by their resident panda. For approximately $500 a piece, enthusiastic art aficionados may purchase abstract paintings created by panda bear Yang Yang, an eighteen year old panda at the Vienna Schoenbrunn Zoo.

Who Owns the Copyright to Paintings Created by Panda Bear?

With some likening Yang Yang’s art to Jackson Pollock pieces, the zoo’s profit off of Yang Yang’s art inevitably raises the specter of the recent copyright law/intellectual property question—who really owns the copyright to the art pieces created by panda bear Yang Yang? Yang Yang clearly could not create the art without the assistance of zookeepers whom provide the panda with the paintbrush, canvas, and easel, which often comes in the form of the zookeepers themselves.  Yet, undeniably, it is still Yang Yang that actually wields the paintbrush and creates the work.  As such, the ownership of the copyright becomes muddled because the U.S. Copyright Act does not provide finite guidance on whether ownership of a work may extend to animals.

Read more about animal rights and copyrights.

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Darin M. Klemchuk is founder of Klemchuk LLP, a litigation, intellectual property, and transactional law firm located in Dallas, Texas. He also co-founded Project K, a charitable movement devoted to changing the world one random act of kindness at a time, and publishes Thriving Attorney, a blog dedicated to exploring the business of the practice of law, productivity and performance for attorneys, and other topics such as law firm leadership and management, law firm culture, and business development for attorneys.

Click to learn more about Darin M. Klemchuk's law practice as an intellectual property lawyer.

Walmart Files Blockchain Technology Patents

Retail giant Walmart has made waves in the intellectual property field recently by filing for a group of patents to protect new blockchain technology that they intend to use to keep pace with main competitor and online retail giant, Amazon. While blockchain technology is not that new, having long been the cornerstone for cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin, only recently have retailers, banks, and other fields of industry began to delve into utilizing the technology in their respective fields.

Read more about Walmart blockchain technology patents.

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Darin M. Klemchuk is founder of Klemchuk LLP, a litigation, intellectual property, and transactional law firm located in Dallas, Texas. He also co-founded Project K, a charitable movement devoted to changing the world one random act of kindness at a time, and publishes Thriving Attorney, a blog dedicated to exploring the business of the practice of law, productivity and performance for attorneys, and other topics such as law firm leadership and management, law firm culture, and business development for attorneys.

Click to learn more about Darin M. Klemchuk's law practice as an intellectual property lawyer.

CRISPR Gene Editing Patent Challenges

Harvard University and the University of California at Berkeley have been at odds over gene-editing patent technology. The patent dispute concerns who owns the rights to Clustered Regularly Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeats (“CRISPR”) technology, which allows scientists to specifically target genes and cut parts of the gene out or even the entire gene itself.   The CRISPR gene technology revolves around an enzyme found in bacteria that naturally occurs as a response to virus threats. Specifically, the CRISPR-Cas9 protein is the one at issue in this dispute, though other CRISPR proteins appear to be coming to market soon.

Read more about CRISPR gene editing patent challenges.

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Darin M. Klemchuk is founder of Klemchuk LLP, a litigation, intellectual property, and transactional law firm located in Dallas, Texas. He also co-founded Project K, a charitable movement devoted to changing the world one random act of kindness at a time, and publishes Thriving Attorney, a blog dedicated to exploring the business of the practice of law, productivity and performance for attorneys, and other topics such as law firm leadership and management, law firm culture, and business development for attorneys.

Click to learn more about Darin M. Klemchuk's law practice as an intellectual property lawyer.

Weekly IP Buzz for week ending in September 21, 2018

Here's a summary of interesting developments in intellectual property, technology, social media, and Internet law for the week ending September 21, 2018.

U.S. Appeals Court Rules on CRISPR Gene Editing Patent Challenges

Harvard University and the University of California at Berkeley have been at odds over gene-editing patent technology. The patent dispute concerns who owns the rights to Clustered Regularly Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeats (“CRISPR”) technology, which allows scientists to specifically target genes and cut parts of the gene out or even the entire gene itself. The CRISPR gene technology revolves around an enzyme found in bacteria that naturally occurs as a response to virus threats. Specifically, the CRISPR-Cas9 protein is the one at issue in this dispute, though other CRISPR proteins appear to be coming to market soon.

In regards to the dispute at hand, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office had originally ruled that Harvard University’s affiliated Broad Institute may keep its technology on gene-editing patents regarding CRISPR. Previously, Harvard had been locked in a dispute with Berkeley over intellectual property rights that include attribution, reputational credit, and financial profits that would result from the gene-editing patent technique. Read more about the ruling.

Will the Internet of Things be the Next Digital Nightmare for America?

Lately, the buzz on the next big stage of the Internet has been the emergence of the Internet of Things. The Internet of Things is the interconnection of devices, allowing for constant upload and download of data, via the Internet. Everyday gadgets (e.g., coffee makers, refrigerators, laundry machines, etc.) that were previously considered “dumb,” or unable to connect to the Internet, will have wireless capability that allows them to connect to the Internet.

Most news about the forthcoming Internet of Things in healthcare has been positive. Proponents often discuss how the Internet of Things will improve healthcare by allowing devices such as wheelchairs or pacemakers to provide real-time data to caretakers. The headlining news about the Internet of Things is often about how it will inevitably improve the average citizen’s life.

Two U.S. senators, however, disagree by citing hacking incidents, specifically an incident last year where hackers were able to use the burgeoning Internet of Things to conduct a denial-of-service attack, which denied access to popular websites such as Twitter and Spotify through “newly” smart devices like fitness trackers and thermostats. Read more about IoT.

Click to read last week's Weekly IP Buzz. Read on LinkedIn.

For more posts, see more at our intellectual property law blog.

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Darin M. Klemchuk is founder of Klemchuk LLP, a litigation, intellectual property, and transactional law firm located in Dallas, Texas. He also co-founded Project K, a charitable movement devoted to changing the world one random act of kindness at a time, and publishes Thriving Attorney, a blog dedicated to exploring the business of the practice of law, productivity and performance for attorneys, and other topics such as law firm leadership and management, law firm culture, and business development for attorneys.

Click to learn more about Darin M. Klemchuk's law practice as an intellectual property lawyer.

Weekly IP Buzz for week ending in September 14, 2018

Here's a summary of interesting developments in intellectual property, technology, social media, and Internet law for the week ending September 14, 2018.

Walmart Delves Into Blockchain Technology Patents

Retail giant Walmart has made waves in the intellectual property field recently by filing for a group of patents to protect new blockchain technology that they intend to use to keep pace with main competitor and online retail giant, Amazon.

While blockchain technology is not that new, having long been the cornerstone for cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin, only recently have retailers, banks, and other fields of industry began to delve into utilizing the technology in their respective fields.

The appeal of blockchain technology comes from its ability to provide a secure, self-validating ledger of records that can record transactions between parties in an open, efficient, verifiable, and permanent manner. From inception, a blockchain is innately resistant to hacking or modification because it must adhere to specific protocols to validate new “blocks” or records. Once a block is produced, the data within that block cannot be altered retroactively unless all subsequent blocks are edited as well. Such massive alteration would require consensus from the network itself. Read more about blockchain technology patents.

Tough Time Flying? There May be a Patented, Digital Pill For That Soon

If you ever have a tough time flying, struggle with how to combat potential jet leg, or just wish that the flight attendant would bring you water or snacks when you need them, British Airways may be developing the digital pill for you. In March 2014, British Airways filed a patent application entitled “Travel Environmental Control” with the intent to personalize the travel environment to the individual passenger. So how would this work?

A flight passenger ingests a digital pill or is otherwise connected to one or more sensors. Through the digital pill and/or sensors, data about the passenger can be collected. This data could include, among other things, information about body movements, sleep phases, heart rate, eye movements, body temperature, and even stomach acidity. Using this data, the system may determine an event timeline for the passenger’s optimal wellness and then dynamically adjust the timeline in response to passenger and environment data collected from the sensors. Accordingly, if a passenger needs a specific sequence of events to assist with overcoming the effects of jet lag at a destination, predefined events may be established including when to sleep, wake, stretch, exercise, eat, drink, engage in in-flight entertainment, etc. And the timeline can be adjusted in response to data received from the digital pill and/or sensors, such as indications that the passenger is awake, asleep, hungry, hot, cold, or even nervous. Read more about this patent-pending digital pill technology.

Click to read last week's Weekly IP Buzz. Read on LinkedIn.

For more posts, see more at our intellectual property law blog.

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Darin M. Klemchuk is founder of Klemchuk LLP, a litigation, intellectual property, and transactional law firm located in Dallas, Texas. He also co-founded Project K, a charitable movement devoted to changing the world one random act of kindness at a time, and publishes Thriving Attorney, a blog dedicated to exploring the business of the practice of law, productivity and performance for attorneys, and other topics such as law firm leadership and management, law firm culture, and business development for attorneys.

Click to learn more about Darin M. Klemchuk's law practice as an intellectual property lawyer.

Weekly IP Buzz for week ending in September 7, 2018

Here's a summary of interesting developments in intellectual property, technology, social media, and Internet law for the week ending September 7, 2018.

Music Industry Battles Internet Service Provider (ISP) Over Copyright Infringement

A Texas internet service provider (“ISP”) has taken to federal court to complain about the increased pressure from the music industry to monitor copyright infringement. In a federal filing, Texas ISP Grande Communications (“Grande”) has complained to federal court that record companies from the music industry have attempted to increasingly shift the burden of policing copyright infringement of their copyrighted works by abusing the use of legal takedown notices under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (“DMCA”).

ISP Under Attack By Music Industry Claiming Millions of Infringements

Grande, a high-speed Internet provider, has claimed that, as the main provider of internet to several university campuses in Texas, it has come increasingly under fire and pressure from at least eighteen different music companies since April 2017. Litigants against Grande include, among others, Universal, Capitol, Warner, and Song; who have all accused Grande of allowing users to “engage in more than one million infringements of copyrighted works” due to alleged abuse by students through the use of bit-torrent services. Read more about copyright infringement.

Spotify v Pandora: Streaming Your Favorite Songs On-Demand

While brand names like Spotify and Pandora have become synonymous with music streaming on the Internet, most customers do not understand that a subtle but significant difference between the business models of Spotify and Pandora greatly impact the way licensing revenues are treated and how artists are compensated.

Traditionally, radio play has accounted for a large amount of income generated by music artists. Music artists and their publishers are generally paid a percentage of royalties each time a song is broadcast via radio waves. Naturally, because radio play constitutes public performance of a musical piece, copyright law often governs radio play as well as the streaming of songs through Internet services. As such, performance rights organizations (“PROs”) generally manage and handle the negotiation of royalties, percentages, and distribution of income to music rightsholders.

Even if you are not in the industry, most of the general public has become familiar with famous PROs such as Broadcast Music Inc. (“BMI”), the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (“ASCAP”), and the Society of European Stage Authors and Composers (“SESAC”). Read more about copyright licensing. 

Click to read last week's Weekly IP Buzz. Read on LinkedIn.

For more posts, see more at our intellectual property law blog.

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Darin M. Klemchuk is founder of Klemchuk LLP, a litigation, intellectual property, and transactional law firm located in Dallas, Texas. He also co-founded Project K, a charitable movement devoted to changing the world one random act of kindness at a time, and publishes Thriving Attorney, a blog dedicated to exploring the business of the practice of law, productivity and performance for attorneys, and other topics such as law firm leadership and management, law firm culture, and business development for attorneys.

Click to learn more about Darin M. Klemchuk's law practice as an intellectual property lawyer.