By Darren Shield Copyright law and international trade might seem to be a dry and academic exercise for some, but not today, matey. The Caribbean island nation of Antigua and Barbuda once operated a booming online gambling industry, but suffered dramatic setbacks after Washington, with the passage of the Federal Wire Act in 2002, prohibited online...Read More

I often receive calls from potential clients who express interest in protecting their music or other artistic works.  Some callers are musicians who are beginning to record, perform and license their songs.  Others call because their music has been stolen or used by someone else without their permission. I ask, “Have you registered your copyrights?”...Read More

By Darren Shield In many dining establishments, a group of enthused servers will regale a table with song to help a special diner celebrate his or her birth. I have enjoyed the many variations of the song for myself, friends and other restaurant patrons. And yet throughout all of my dining experiences I have almost...Read More

Trademarks and Branding Applying for a trademark registration with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office is often overlooked by entrepreneurs and startups.  Protecting your business’s name and logo through federal trademark registration provides numerous benefits to you, such as the following: Public notice of your claim of ownership of the mark; A legal presumption of...Read More

Last Friday the “mainstream media”, blogs and intellectual property attorneys were all a-twitter over Sarah Palin’s latest move: applying for trademark registrations for the names “Sarah Palin” and “Bristol Palin.”  No, really. The CNN article may be found HERE: Upon review of the information on the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office website, it appears that our...Read More

The Younger Lawyers Division of the Federal Bar Association Southern District of New York Chapter presents ART, LAW & BEER a Free Event January 26th 6:30 – 8:30 PM at GALLERY HENOCH 555 W. 25th Street Featuring: DAVID KASSAN, Figurative Artist LILLIAN LASERSON, Copyright and Entertainment Lawyer and Former General Counsel of DC Comics DANIEL FISHER, Beer Blogger and Craft Beer Advocate RSVP...Read More

The Senate Judiciary Committee has approved the Innovative Design Protection and Piracy Protection Act (“IDPPPA”), which (if passed by Congress and signed by President Obama) would expand Article 13 of the Copyright Act to include and protect “apparel” items such as clothing, luggage, handbags, wallets and eyeglass frames.  The IDPPA protects fashion designers from having...Read More

A few weeks ago, South Park creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone escaped a possible lawsuit for lifting lines of the movie “Inception” in one of their South Park episodes. Parker and Stone apologized for using and making fun of lines they believed came directly from the movie’s script, but, in fact, were from another...Read More

Yesterday I attended a seminar put on by the American Society for Media Photographers called “Copyright and the New Economy.” The afternoon panelists included, among others, Lawrence Lessig, Harvard Law School Professor and author of books such as Remix and The Future of Ideas, Chase Jarvis, the well-known commercial photographer, and David Carson, U.S. Copyright...Read More

On Monday, March 29, 2010, the U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York, held that patents on a set of human genes linked to breast cancer are invalid. Patents are meant for innovations, granting the inventor/creator the exclusive right to develop and produce the innovation. Exclusivity rewards the inventor, yet too much exclusivity stifles...Read More