intellectual property

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Golfing Great Loses Round in Name, Likeness Battle

Jack Nicklaus is up against a former business partner in court

(Newser) - A golfing great has lost an attempt to win back control of his name and likeness from a former business partner. A federal judge in Florida tossed part of Jack Nicklaus' intellectual property case against a company that bought the rights to his name, image, and likeness, Sports Illustrated reports....

Twitter May Have a Problem With Its Shiny New Logo

Trademark infringement questions arise over news that Meta, Microsoft also have 'X' registered

(Newser) - "X" may not mark the spot after all for Elon Musk in his attempted rebrand of Twitter. Although Musk has officially unveiled the 24th letter of the alphabet as his social media site's new name and identity, Insider reports that rival Meta appears to own the trademark for...

Twitter Threatens Meta With Lawsuit Over Threads

Rival accuses Zuckerberg of hiring former employees to acquire trade secrets

(Newser) - Twitter has welcomed Threads aboard by threatening to sue its owner, Meta. CEO Mark Zuckerberg received a letter hours after Thread's launch Wednesday accusing the more senior social media platform of "systematic, willful, and unlawful misappropriation of Twitter's trade secrets and other intellectual property," Semafor reports...

Taco Bell on Trademark War: 'Taco Tuesday' Belongs to All

Fast-food giant asks Patent and Trademark Office to force smaller chain to give up rights to the term

(Newser) - Declaring a mission to liberate "Taco Tuesday" for all, Taco Bell is asking US regulators to force Wyoming-based Taco John's to abandon its long-standing claim to the trademark. Too many businesses and others refer to "Taco Tuesday" for Taco John's to be able to have exclusive...

Baghdad's 'Starbucks' Points to Growing Problem in Iraq

Country is a hub for trademark violation, costing companies billions

(Newser) - Everything from the signboard outside down to the napkins bears the official emblem of the top international coffee chain. But in Baghdad, looks are deceiving: The "Starbucks" in the Iraqi capital is unlicensed. Real Starbucks merchandise is imported from neighboring countries to stock the three cafes in the city,...

Sorry, Mariah, You're Not the Only 'Queen of Christmas'

Trademark office denies singer's claim for rights to the phrase

(Newser) - Mariah Carey isn't getting the holiday gift she wanted from the US Patent and Trademark Office. The office on Tuesday denied the singer's request to trademark "Queen of Christmas," after rejecting her applications for "QOC" and "Princess Christmas" earlier this month, per the Washington ...

This Isn't Your Mother's Winnie the Pooh
This Isn't Your Mother's
Winnie the Pooh
MOVIE TRAILER

This Isn't Your Mother's Winnie the Pooh

Public domain rules allow for this gory adaptation

(Newser) - This is why you should always read the reviews carefully before taking your kids to the theater. The trailer for a new Winnie the Pooh movie, based on the lovable bear created by UK author AA Milne, dropped Wednesday. But in this nearly two-minute sneak peek at Winnie-the-Pooh: Blood and ...

Fastest Man in the World Wants Ownership of His Victory Pose

Retired sprinter Usain Bolt has filed to trademark signature celebration move to use logo on merch

(Newser) - If you're a famous athlete with the name "Bolt," and you've got a signature victory move that resembles a jagged line of electricity, chances are you're going to make sure you control that likeness. There's only one man this situation currently applies to in...

Netflix Sues Over Bridgerton Musical

Fan tribute is evolving into a commercial success

(Newser) - Music based on the hit Netflix series Bridgerton has been a success. Abigail Barlow and Emily Bear wrote 15 songs, picking up fans on TikTok, then released an album that won a Grammy in April. The fans included Netflix, the Verge reports. "Absolutely blown away by the Bridgerton musical...

Artist: 'Metaverse' Insta Handle Blocked After FB Name Change

Australia's Thea-Mai Baumann used the 'metaverse' handle, then suddenly got blocked

(Newser) - For nearly a decade, Thea-Mai Baumann, once the owner of an augmented-reality company called Metaverse Makeovers, used the Instagram handle "metaverse" to showcase her creative work. Last month, however, the Australian artist says she suddenly wasn't able to access her Insta, and she suspects Facebook's recent rebranding...

Accused Streamer Faces 514 Years in Prison

Bill Carrasquillo allegedly stole copyrighted content from cable firms, sold it to his own subscribers

(Newser) - For most people, getting arrested is, at the very least, an inconvenience. For Bill Omar Carrasquillo, his Tuesday detention was "100% a relief." That's what the 35-year-old YouTuber known as "Omi in a Hellcat" told FOX 29 Philadelphia on Wednesday outside his Swedesboro, NJ, home after...

Banksy Just Suffered a 'Devastating' Loss

Street artist loses EU trademark fight with greeting card company over his own artwork

(Newser) - In a desperate move to claim the trademark for one of his most famous works, British street artist Banksy, usually known for floating untethered in anonymity, opened up a shop last fall, hoping to sway European Union judges in his favor. His efforts—deemed a "weakass attempt" by Techdirt...

China Gives Ivanka Trump 5 Trademarks
Ivanka Trump
Has 5 New
Trademarks

Ivanka Trump Has 5 New Trademarks

In China, which is in trade negotiations with her father's administration

(Newser) - The Chinese government has granted Ivanka Trump's company preliminary approval for another five trademarks this month, reports the AP , as her father's administration pushes ahead on trade negotiations with China. Four trademarks, including child care centers, sunglasses, and wedding dresses, were approved on Sunday. A fifth, covering brokerage,...

Trump Readies a Hefty Penalty on China

President prepares to unveil $60B in tariffs despite concern from US businesses

(Newser) - President Trump has long believed China engages in unfair trade practices with the US, and senior aides recently presented him with a proposal for $30 billion in annual tariffs against Beijing. Not good enough, said Trump, who ordered them to double the amount to $60 billion, reports the Washington Post ...

When Girls' Dolls 'Leaned In,' and Why It's All a 'Sham'

Closer look at intellectual property war between Barbie and Bratz reveals much deeper stuff

(Newser) - Barbie dolls have dominated the toy landscape for girls since their 1959 intro—which made it a big deal when Bratz dolls hit the scene in 2001 and started stealing market share, spurring a years-long legal war between Barbie maker Mattel and Bratz creator MGA, a Mattel competitor. As Jill...

Trump Thinks China Rips Off US Businesses, May Act Soon

He's poised to open an official investigation against Beijing

(Newser) - Either President Trump is about to get tough on China over trade or the White House wants Beijing to think he's about to get tough on trade. The White House is putting the word out that the president thinks China is ripping off American businesses and aims to take...

Edward Albee Left a Controversial Final Wish

Playwright's will instructs executors to destroy all his unfinished manuscripts

(Newser) - When Franz Kafka died, he left instructions for his friend Max Brod to incinerate any incomplete works—a request Brod ignored, which led to the publishing of The Castle and The Trial, among other writings. Edward Albee also wanted to avoid such posthumous publications, and the New York Times reports...

Google Lawsuit Just Made Uber's Lousy Month Even Worse

Complaint says ex-Google engineer Anthony Levandowski stole proprietary secrets

(Newser) - Uber hasn't had a good week . Actually, Uber hasn't had a good month . But the bad news isn't over yet: The ride-sharing company is being sued by Waymo, the self-driving car unit of Google parent Alphabet, over accusations that an ex-manager of Google's autonomous car project...

'Blurred Lines' Lawyer Has Long Been a Disrupter

But this case may be Richard Busch's 'most satisfying'

(Newser) - A jury has found that Robin Thicke's inescapable song "Blurred Lines" borrowed a little too heavily from Marvin Gaye —and that ruling may owe a lot to lawyer Richard Busch, who represented Gaye's family, the New York Times reports in a profile of the man who...

Sweden Raids Pirate Bay, Takes Site Down

File-sharing site was targeted during reported data center sweep

(Newser) - The Pirate Bay is down for the count after a raid on one of the file-sharing company's server rooms in Sweden yesterday, Reuters reports. "We had a crackdown on a server room in Greater Stockholm because of a copyright infringement, and yes it was Pirate Bay,"...

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