From pillow to donut to courthouse

Marty Schwimmer asks the question we’ve all asked ourselves at one point or another: “Are There Donut Lampshades In Your Background?”

If you operate a business in some sort of public space, such as a restaurant, and you utilize a furnishing or a decoration that may contain a copyrightable element (such as a lampshade, or a wallpaper or a poster), then your use of such an item may constitute a public display of the work, and if the item is infringing, then you may have some exposure for copyright infringement.

That’s a good bit of advice. Read the piece to see what he means.

Ron Coleman

LIKELIHOOD OF CONFUSION blog author Ron Coleman is a member of Dhillon Law Group in their New York City and Montclair, New Jersey offices. He is a graduate of Northwestern University School of Law and Princeton University.