Many new business owners make the costly mistake of putting the cart before the horse, meaning that after creating a business name and/or logo, they invest in pricey marketing materials, websites and advertising strategies BEFORE consulting a trademark attorney. An astute business owner first seeks counsel from an attorney to: 1) Conduct a trademark novelty search, 2) Provide an analysis on the availability of a business name/logo and 3) Issue a risk report of potentially li

Traditionally, copyright litigation has been dominated by the music industry; primarily with record labels and artists combating the surge in illegally copying and distribution of their art spawned by the growth of the internet in the last 20 years and secondarily by artists' squabbles over who sang it first, a la Gaye v. Thicke & Williams. However in a recent turn of events, it seems that the $13 Billion a year adult entertainment industry is now dominating the docket with f

The 'Blurred Lines' verdict has got to be one of the most talked about copyright cases in decades, drawing the attention of not only legal nerds like myself and folks in the music industry but the general public as well. The primary reason being that both songs involved were immensely popular across generations - that is to say that both my 60 some-odd-year-young mother and my 20 some-odd-year old self both were well aware of and enjoyed both songs. And with all that attentio