“Happy Birthday”: Second verse, same as the first.
While I wasn’t looking, the lead plaintiff in the class action to have the song “Happy Birthday to You” declared to be in the public... Read more
Author: Matthew David Brozik
What’s your poison? Copyright infringement.
You’ve heard the tale in one form or another: A bar plays a recorded song over its sound system (without permission), then gets sued for... Read more
STOLICHNAYA: In Soviet Russia, Mark Trades You.
I’ve long suspected that certain products–vice products, as it were–are disproportionately often involved in trademark disputes, but I’m too lazy to do actual research to... Read more
YOU DO NOT OWN THIS POST.
A new lawsuit commenced in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York—John Johnson (not an alias) et ano. v. Amazon.com,... Read more
Lacklihood of Confusion.
Every so often, someone or other submits papers to a court that are a pleasure to read, often because the papers show such a firm... Read more
The Future of “Happy Birthday” Might Be a Present to Us All, Because of Its Past.
As a rule—specifically Federal Rule of Civil Procedure Rule 8(a)(2)—a pleading that states a claim for relief must contain… a short and plain statement of... Read more
Dot-xxx: The Rosy Dawn of a New Blue Era
We all knew this day would come, even if not everyone wanted it to: The sponsored top-level domain .xxx is up and running, although addresses... Read more
Where’s the Beef? Here in Pleasantville.
On March 22, Burger Keeper, LLC—operator of restaurants in New York City, Boston, and Miami… and owner (and “utilize”-r) of the federally registered trademarks FIVE... Read more
But It’s Not a Good Feeling.
I’m sorry. “More Than a Feeling” is the only Boston song I’ve ever heard—or even heard of. For a while, in fact, I was fairly... Read more
A Slice of Life in the Big City
This might very well be one of those things that is amusing only to New Yorkers—and specifically those who live or work in New York... Read more
We Can Infringe Upon You Wholesale
[Editor’s note: When this was first posted, I — not Matthew, I, Ron Coleman — failed to utilize the drop-down box and make sure... Read more
The Song Remains the Same. It’s Supposed to, Anyway.
Over at the Daily Beast today is this story: Matthew Panzarino [of The Next Web] notes the similarities between the version of “Baby Got Back” that appeared on Glee in... Read more
I Beg to Differ, Sir
It’s rare that one gets the opportunity to sue his hero—but, as my wife recently remarked to me, “You’re dangerous when you’re bored.” This is... Read more