Category: Intellectual Property

If you’re a fan of popular cultural in its various guises, and especially of comic books and science fiction as portrayed in novels and on the big screen, you’ve likely heard the term “comic con.” And, more than likely, that reference relates specifically to San Diego Comic-Con, an organization started in 1970 to celebrate comics…

If you’re reading this blog entry of the Southern California business law firm of Larson & Gaston on its posting date or thereabouts, there’s a fair chance you might be splitting your attention between its subject matter and what’s currently going on at the Olympic Games in Brazil. Because it’s that time, of course, with…

Although some media reports of a presently circulating story regarding well-known entertainer Stephen Colbert are expressing a fair bit of surprise regarding its details, the tale actually focuses on well-worn subject matter in the entertainment industry. And that is this: considerations surrounding ownership of creative material that is publicly used. Industry principals fight about that, and for…

If you’re lucky enough to be part of a smart team of ambitious and enterprising California entrepreneurs, there’s probably a lot on your plate at the startup you’re either envisioning or actively developing. Things are probably in a swirl, with product ideas and lines emerging with clarity and progressive refinement. A company “face” might also…

The time-honored and oft-litigated standard relevant in adjudging trademark lawsuits focuses squarely on confusion. That is, courts are routinely asked to consider whether an alleged infringing use of a protected mark is sufficiently similar in look and feel to reasonably promote confusion in a consumer as to the source of the mark. Put another way,…

Your original creative works or works that you commissioned or purchased for your business are your private property. You have copyright protection when you publish those original creations or when you register them with the United States Copyright Office. Generally, you will then have control over how other people use your creation. If you discover…

These days, everybody who has a business has a website, whether they’re big-name companies, emerging entrepreneurial stars, small mom-and-pop businesses or independent contractors. It’s all too easy, however, to make a mistake and violate someone’s intellectual property rights. Whatever the cause, you’ve now been served with a Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) notice that’s accusing you of…

Operating a business successfully today requires a different approach than it did in past eras. While business intellectual property has existed for a long time, it encompasses much more these days than trademarks or copyrighted works. Branding has become a kind of umbrella term for many types of intellectual property that define and add value…