An International Approach to Intellectual Property: An Interview with Katie Staba

Katie Staba is a partner at K&L Gates in the Technology Transactions and Data Protection practice group at the firm’s Chicago office. Her practice focuses on complex global transactions and counseling relating to digital media planning and buying, advertising and marketing, claim substantiation, software licensing, She counsels clients on intellectual property issues in mergers, acquisitions and investments, unfair competition and trade secrets and competitive intelligence.
Katie attended Loyola University Chicago School of Law where she served as the Executive Editor of Loyola’s International Law Review. Recently, Katie was named to Crain’s 2020 Notable Women in the Law.
I had the opportunity to learn about Katie, her IP practice, and how she first got interested. The following is an edited version of our discussion that includes my own explanations of some IP lingo for those who may be less familiar.
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A “SAD” New Reality in Trademark Legislation

Last year, I took an incredibly exciting class in the realm of intellectual property, called the “IP Colloquium.” It’s a class where Loyola University Chicago School of Law and Chicago-Kent School of Law professors come together to bring in world-renowned speakers from across the country to teach us, students, about issues in the IP world. These issues range from every topic in IP; including trade secrets, copyright, patents, and trademarks. One specific speaker piqued my interest – his name is Eric Goldman. He is a law professor at Santa Clara University School of Law and focuses his research and teachings on IP, Internet Law, and Advertising Law.

Professor Goldman gave us a first look at his article “A SAD New Category of Abusive Intellectual Property Litigation,” which shed light on a newly discovered IP problem mainly happening in my own backyard – the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, the federal trial court in Chicago. The paper, along with his presentation, explained how famous brands and performers are overwhelming the court by suing hundreds of defendants for trademark infringement. Before we get into what the “SAD Scheme” actually is, let’s first go through what trademarks are, how a party infringes a trademark, and where the “SAD” name came from.

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Importing Pez, Dispensing Trademark Infringement

In 2022, Netflix released a quirky true crime documentary, called The Pez Outlaw, detailing the passionate rivalry between the president of PEZ USA (“the Pezident”) and Steve Glew, a jovial Pez collector who illegally brought thousands of Pez dispensers into the US. The film follows the heartfelt story of Glew, aka the “Pez Outlaw,” whose candy smuggling adventures introduce its audience to issues of IP liability, protection, and enforcement. Before we talk about Glew’s “Pezscapades,” let’s define some IP topics that show up in the story.

Photo by Jose Antonio Gallego Vázquez via Unsplash

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Palatable Patents

Did you know that many of the food products you see on the shelf at the grocery store are patented?
Utility patents are granted by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) for useful “inventions” that are new and nonobvious. The owner of a utility patent has the right to exclude others from making, selling, offering to sell, using, or importing the patented invention for a set period of time—usually around 17 years.

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Startups and Their (Non)Obvious Patents

Startups and Their (Non)Obvious Patents Many products and services we use every day are inventions from startups that were innovative, new, and exciting at the time they were created. For example, many of us now use, and take for granted, Uber for transportation or Square to easily pay with credit cards at restaurants or stores. While these companies’ platforms might be obvious to us now, … Continue reading Startups and Their (Non)Obvious Patents

Checking Out Trader Joe’s Tote Bag Trademark Battle

Trader Joe’s: A Long Grocery List of Trademarks

Trader Joe’s is an undeniably popular grocery store chain.
It operates over 500 locations in the United States across 42 states and Washington, D.C., with estimated annual sales that reach $16.5 billion.

I’m a fanatical patron myself. I love its funky, mom-and-pop aesthetic and products that I can’t seem to get elsewhere like Everything But the Bagel seasoning (Trader Joe’s owns the trademark for that). The chain has achieved wide success with its “cult-like” customer base

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Dumb Starbucks or Smart Starbucks? Brewing Up Effective Parodies

Dumb Starbucks or Smart Starbucks? Brewing Up Effective Parodies

Years before I started law school, I enjoyed indulging in the work of a comedian named Nathan Fielder, a master of absurdist comedy. Never did I realize this would be one of my first encounters with the many principles of trademark law. On his show, Nathan for You, he acts as a “consultant” helping real people with their real businesses. However, Nathan’s version of “help” only included absurd and unrealistic ideas, such as the concept of “Dumb Starbucks.”
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The Rainbow Road to Nostalgia and Copyrights

In October of 1985, a heroic plumber named Mario journeyed through a kingdom of peaceful mushroom people to save a kidnapped princess from the hands of the evil, fire-breathing tyrant.

Thirty-eight years later, Mario once again journeyed through a kingdom of peaceful mushroom people, this time with the help of the princess to save his kidnapped brother from the hands of an evil, fire-breathing tyrant. However, rather than watching Mario’s adventure through a TV and a video game console, the beloved character now embarked on an adventure on the big screen.
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Winter is Coming for OpenAI: What Constitutes Fair Use by ChatGPT?

Dragons, White Walkers and AI, oh my!

If you are a big Game of Thrones or fanfiction lover, buckle up! From one (legal) battlefront to the other, OpenAI has been under fire recently for the development of their artificial intelligence (AI) computer program ChatGPT. The Authors Guild and 17 individual authors (“Authors”), including “Game of Thrones” novelist George R.R. Martin, filed a lawsuit in September 2023, against Open AI for copyright infringement.

But before we dive into that, let’s cover the basics of ChatGPT.
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A Trademark Telenovela: Nestlé USA Fights to Keep Mexican Classics Off the Shelves

With winter (or Abuelita season) approaching, Chocolate Abuelita (a classic Mexican hot chocolate) is at the top of many Mexican minds. However, this time, the thought comes with a bit of uncertainty. This summer, a trademark infringement lawsuit between Nestlé USA and Ultra Mundiales, a Mexico-based distributor, took over Mexican Instagram and TikTok.

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