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

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

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