#OCLawyer

David Baker

Mar 31, 2021
2 min

Art World Embraces Non-Fungible Tokens

Just when you thought it was impossible for the art world to get any weirder, this happens: A non-fungible token (or “NFT”) of a digital artwork just sold at Christie's auction for $69 million. Digital artwork? Non-fungible tokens? $69 million? At least the concept of paying millions of dollars for artwork has become a familiar one. As for the others … Earlier this month, Mike Winkelmann, a Charleston, SC graphic designer who goes by the adopted art world name of “Beeple," s

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Peloton unhappy about SPINNING trademark

David Baker

Mar 27, 2021
1 min

Peloton unhappy about SPINNING trademark

Exercise bike manufacturer, Peloton, has filed petitions with the USPTO’s Trademark Trial and Appeal Board to cancel Mad Dogg Athletics’ registrations for the SPIN and SPINNING trademarks. #Peloton #Exercise #Biking #Gym #Spin #Spinning #USPTO #TTAB #Trademarks #Branding #IntellectualProperty #IPlawyer #OCLawyer #DavidBaker

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David Baker

Mar 24, 2021
1 min

Mr. Potato Head Is Now Gender Fluid

In a move that probably surprised Mrs. Potato Head, Hasbro recently announced that it was dropping the “Mr.” from the popular plastic toy Mr. Potato Head and would now market him as gender neutral. #Hasbro #MrPotatoHead #GenderFluid #Toys #Branding #Trademarks #Copyrights #IntellectualProeprty #IPLawyer #OCLawyer #DavidBaker

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David Baker

Mar 22, 2021
1 min

Banksy On Fire ... Just Not Literally

Luckily, there are always new developments in the IP world to keep us distracted. Whether it was street artist Banksy’s recent social commentary/graffiti caper on the walls of (former) Reading Prison in the U.K. or the sale of one of his pieces, Morons, by Injective Protocol, a cryptocurrency company, which then burned it (yes, burned it into nonexistence) while broadcasting live through a Twitter account @BurntBanksy. However, before going up in flames, Injective Protocol ha

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IP Update March 2021 Edition - Banksy, Beeple, NFTs, WonderCon, Spinning, and even Mr. Potato Head

David Baker

Mar 18, 2021
2 min

IP Update March 2021 Edition - Banksy, Beeple, NFTs, WonderCon, Spinning, and even Mr. Potato Head

“The artist brings something into the world that didn’t exist before, and he dos it without destroying something else.” - John Updike In all honesty, I am a bit bummed. I know 2020 is but a distant memory and 2021 promises a return to normalcy (of a sort), but it was hard to suffer the one-two blow delivered earlier this month when the organizers of the most highly anticipated popular media events on the West Coast announced that WonderCon 2021 and San Diego Comic-Con 2021 wo

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David Baker

Mar 16, 2021
1 min

WonderCon Goes Virtual … Again

For only the second time ever (2020 was the first), organizers of the Anaheim, California popular media convention WonderCon have announced that the event will once again be virtual because of ongoing pandemic concerns. #WonderCon #WonderCon2021 #WonderCon@Home #ComicBooks #PopularMedia #IntellectualProperty #IPLawyer #OCLawyer #David Baker

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David Baker

Mar 4, 2021
1 min

“Ruh-roh, Reorge!”

It has been nearly 60 years since The Jetsons cartoon arrived on American televisions, but a recent USPTO trademark application filed by Astro Biosciences has elicited a trademark opposition from Hanna Barbera Productions, the cartoon’s producer, for the trademark “Astro Dog.” What product does Astro Biosciences make? Dog treats, of course. #TheJetsons #HannaBarbera #AstroBiosciences #USPTO #trademarks #trademarklaw #intellectualproperty #intellectualpropertylaw #DavidBaker #

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Ninth Circuit Favors Seuss Over Star Trek

David Baker

Mar 2, 2021
1 min

Ninth Circuit Favors Seuss Over Star Trek

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit has ruled that a publishing company, ComicMix, LLC, was in the wrong when it published a mashup of Ted Geisel’s book (aka Dr. Seuss) Oh, the Places You’ll Go with characters from Star Trek in a Kickstarter campaign titled Oh, the Places You’ll Boldly Go! #trademarks #copyrights #trademarklaw #copyrightlaw #DrSeuss #StarTrek #intellectualproperty #intelletualpropertylaw #IPLawyer #DavidBaker #OCLawyer

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David Baker

Feb 25, 2021
1 min

IP Update - February 2021 Edition

“But he who dares not grasp the thorn. Should never crave the rose.” ― Anne Bronte Did you watch the Big Game? Kinda boring, wasn’t it? Even the commercials and halftime show seemed flat to me. Maybe it was the small COVID crowd or the fact that we were still under quarantine in California, but it just didn’t feel the same. Likewise, the end of the College football season didn’t seem the same either. Other than Alabama winning the National Championship, of course. That seems

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David Baker

Feb 16, 2021
1 min

Aunt Jemima Finally Retires

Quaker Oats is releasing a new name and logo for its "Aunt Jemima" products, finally retiring the racist stereotype that has adorned its pancake mixes and syrups for decades. The “new” brand name, Pearl Milling Company, is actually the name of the 19th century business that created the original ready-made pancake mix which became famous under the soon-to-be retired moniker. #AuntJemima #QuakerOats #branding #trademarks #intellectualproperty #intellectualpropertylaw #DavidBake

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David Baker

Feb 11, 2021
1 min

Amusement Park Sues Singer

Evermore Park, a small amusement park in Utah, has filed suit against Taylor Swift and her management company alleging that the naming of her most recent album Evermore (and the sale of related merchandise) constitutes trademark infringement. Why an obscure amusement park would complain of being linked to an international recording star remains unclear. #Evermore #EvermorePark #TaylorSwift #trademarks #copyrights #intellectualproperty #FederalCourt #USPTO #intellectualpropert

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Did you miss an issue of IP Update? You're in luck. Here's a copy of the January 2021 edition.

David Baker

Feb 11, 2021
1 min

Did you miss an issue of IP Update? You're in luck. Here's a copy of the January 2021 edition.

So, the first week of January really happened, didn’t it? And, if you were paying attention to the unrelenting media coverage from our nation’s capital, you probably noticed several of your fellow citizens sporting stylish t-shirts, baseball caps, and even morale patches (those Velcro® backed symbols originally used by the military) with a stylized skull on them as they helped themselves to unguided tours of the Capital Building. In this month’s IP Update, we explain where th

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The “Grand Daddy of Them All” Trademark Lawsuit

David Baker

Feb 3, 2021
2 min

The “Grand Daddy of Them All” Trademark Lawsuit

Capping the weird 2020-2021 NCAA football season, the Alabama Crimson Tide beat the Ohio State Buckeyes 52-24 in the College Football National Championship Game last month. The Championship was played at the Orange Bowl venue, but the Orange Bowl® football game had already been played nine days earlier between Texas A&M and North Carolina. Adding to the confusion, Alabama had already played in the Rose Bowl® football game on January 1, beating Notre Dame 31 to 14, but that ga

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David Baker

Jan 28, 2021
2 min

IP Update - January 2021 Edition

"In the long-run, every government is the exact symbol of its people, with their wisdom and unwisdom; we have to say, Like People like Government." - Thomas Carlyle So, the first week of January really happened, didn’t it? And, if you were paying attention to the unrelenting media coverage from our nation’s capital, you probably noticed several of your fellow citizens sporting stylish t-shirts, baseball caps, and even morale patches (those Velcro® backed symbols originally us

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Passage of COVID Relief Bill Changes Copyright Law

David Baker

Jan 15, 2021
2 min

Passage of COVID Relief Bill Changes Copyright Law

Last month, the CASE Act was signed into law by President Trump as part of the massive 5,593-page, $1.4-trillion omnibus spending and COVID-19 relief bill, titled the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021. Originally, the Copyright Alternative in Small-Claims Enforcement (“CASE”) Act was introduced in 2019 to establish a copyright small claims system that allows copyright creators to take action against infringers on a smaller scale than filing lawsuits in federal court. Supp

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David Baker

Jan 5, 2021
1 min

Trademark Fees Are on the Rise in 2021

Despite having to deal with Covid-19 challenges in 2020, U.S. business will now have to contend with another challenge, higher trademark registration fees in 2021. The USPTO has announced increased fees of as much as $150 beginning January 2, 2021. If you hurry, you still have a few days to file in 2020. #USPTO #trademarks #trademarkfees #intellectualproperty #DavidBaker #IPLawyer #OCLawyer #BusinessLawyer #IPUpdate

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David Baker

Dec 22, 2020
2 min

IP Update - December 2020 Edition

“Outside of a dog, a book is man's best friend. Inside of a dog it's too dark to read.” - Groucho Marx How long does a trademark last? It lasts as long as it serves the purpose of identifying the source of goods or services. And this is no less true for a popular cartoon character that debuted in 1962. The Jetsons is an animated sitcom produced by Hanna-Barbera that originally aired in primetime on American television from 1962–1963. It featured a space age family of the same

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of David Christopher Baker