I neglect my talents Far far away, behind the word mountains, far from the countries Vokalia and Consonantia, there live the blind texts. Separated they live in Bookmarksgrove right at the coast of the Semantics, a large language ocean. A small river named Duden flows by their place and supplies it with the necessary regelialia. It...Read More

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

While Tim Lincecum may be one of the best pitchers baseball has seen since the turn of the millennium, he can’t seem pitch his way out of court. First, The Freak faced charges for pot possession in 2009.  Now, Timmy’s ex-landlord is suing him for entering his former apartment after his lease expired and stealing and destroying property. Good...Read More

An article by the BBC reports that spelling mistakes can cost businesses “millions” in lost online sales.  In this day and age of short attention spans and over-stimulation on the internet, companies have only a few seconds to catch a potential customer’s eye and close a sale.  The article reports that companies have “about six seconds” to catch someone’s...Read More

After somewhat of a hiatus, I return to the blog with two of my favorite subjects in one story:  Trademark infringement and the San Francisco Giants (defending World Series Champions, of course). It appears that federal agents seized over 2,400 t-shirts and baseball caps destined for Port au Prince, Haiti, bearing the registered trademarks 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