Getting Hooked on IP
Given my STEM background, once I shared my interest in law school, people frequently suggested intellectual property (IP) as a career path. At the time, I didn’t personally know any lawyers, but I was eager to explore this potential career path. A family friend connected me with a partner at Greer, Burns & Crain (“GBC”), who invited me to shadow an associate for a day.
The rise of social media has presented challenges to trademark law, as it has blurred the lines between creative expression and brand identity used in commerce. Social media platforms like TikTok have fundamentally changed how entertainment is produced, consumed, and monetized. Social media provides an entertainment platform that allows for entertainment from user to user instead of from an entertainment company to a viewer. TikTok is particularly known for its popular trends and quick fame achieved through its short-form content. Many creators on this platform become known through catchphrases, witty one-liners, and nicknames. These phrases have potential to generate significant value through increased followings, brand deals, merchandise, and online advertising. This raises the question of whether a TikTok catchphrase or nickname can be a valid trademark. If so, does the creator who popularized it through the app have rights to the mark?
Connecting a Love of Sports to a Love of Intellectual Property Law
Sports have always played a significant role in my life, shaping my personal identity and relationships along with my professional pursuits in intellectual property law. Before discussing how sports sparked my interest in practicing intellectual property, I want to share how my love for sports began. Playing soccer connected me to my community and taught me perseverance. Watching Manchester United kept me in touch with my European family and built a stronger relationship with my Nana. I found pride in being a student at the athletic powerhouse of the University of Georgia and, during my senior year, got to experience the feeling when your team wins a championship. My freshman-year roommate, a die-hard Chicago Bears fan, sparked my Bears fandom as we watched the team every football weekend. Since I have always been captured by sports’ power to unite communities, countries, and even the world, I knew I wanted sports to remain a meaningful part of my life.
Continue reading “Putting the Ball in Their Court, and Mine: Sports and Intellectual Property Law”
When you think about copyrights… you may not imagine that Benny The Bull, Bucky the Badger, or the Phillie Phanatic are relevant… but even these sports characters are subject to copyright law. Before diving into how copyright applies to mascots, it’s important to understand some basic principles of copyright law.
Continue reading “Baseball Copyright Fanatics- A Case Study of the Phillie Phanatic”
As a new golfer working tirelessly on my (sometimes inconsistent) swing, I discovered something about the sport that goes beyond fairways and putting greens. I discovered the enormous field of golf patents, where innovation meets fierce competition. From multi-layered golf balls to the aerodynamic secrets hidden in club faces, there’s an extraordinary number of patents in this industry—22,000 since 1976, to be precise! What surprised … Continue reading Patent Wars on the Fairway: How Obviousness Plays a Role in Golf Patents
Alisha Feustel is a founding partner at Akona IP who focuses on all aspects of intellectual property law, especially patent prosecution (the writing, filing, and handling of patent applications with the US Patent and Trademark Office) and patent portfolio management (the strategic handling of one’s patent assets). She works closely with clients in a variety of technologies, including semiconductor device packaging, biomedical devices, computer memory and storage technologies, and many others.
Continue reading “From Engineering to Entrepreneurship: An Interview with Alisha Feustel”
When small businesses are just getting off the ground, one big question on their minds is, “How do we stand out from the competition?” One way to stand out is by having a distinctive name, slogan, or logo. It’s even better if a business takes steps to ensure these identifying symbols are maximally protected under the trademark law. A valid trademark identifies the source of … Continue reading Leveling the Trademark Playing Field for Small Businesses
With the increased use of artificial intelligence (“AI”) programs, intellectual property law has been faced with a variety of unanswered questions. One such question is whether AI systems qualify as inventors for patents. Another is whether AI systems qualify as authors for copyrights. The world of trade secrets is similarly facing new questions and challenges due to the use of AI. Some of these challenges … Continue reading Can AI Keep A Secret?
The impact of Artificial Intelligence on Intellectual Property law has been an ongoing debate, especially how it impacts inventorship or authorship. But with increasing numbers of deepfakes going around the internet, AI might impact another important area of IP law—the right of publicity. A better understanding of deepfakes and the dangers of deepfakes will educate how much the right of publicity could protect individuals whose name and likeness is appropriated by deepfakes.
Continue reading “Identity Crisis: Deepfakes and the Battle for Image and Likeness”
Anyone interested in fashion or pop culture likely knows that CHANEL is one of the largest, well-known, and sought after names in the fashion industry. Words such as timeless, chic, and luxurious are often used to describe the clothes and accessories sold by the French fashion house. Since its beginning in the early 1900s, Chanel has obtained intellectual property (“IP”) rights, particularly in its trademarks. A trademark can be any word, phrase, symbol, design, or combination thereof that distinguishes your goods and services from that of another. For Chanel, its name and logo are both well-known and well recognized trademarks. Unfortunately for the average consumer, Chanel’s goods aren’t as easily accessible as they are recognized, due to the high price tags that the brand is also known for.
Continue reading “Don’t Tell CHANEL: Legitimate Resale or Trademark Infringement?”
