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Five Things You Need to Know About Trademark Disputes in China
1) Even if you aren’t selling in China, you may need to register your trademark
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Some companies have chosen not to register their trademarks in China, on the assumption that it is unnecessary if they don’t plan to sell their products in the Chinese marketplace, even though their products are manufactured in China. These same companies have been caught flat-footed when their products are manufactured in China for export and resale elsewhere. -
New Generic Top-Level Domain System Expands Internet Addressing Scheme
A significant expansion of the Internet is underway. On January 12, 2012, the Internet Corporation for Names and Numbers (ICANN) began accepting applications from parties who wish to own and maintain new generic top-level domains.
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Survey of Computer Fraud and Abuse Act Cases
Molly Eichten was published in the November 2012 issue of the American Bar Association's publication, The Business Lawyer, for the article "Survey of Computer Fraud and Abuse Act Cases."
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Stop Online Piracy Act Causes Controversy Between U.S. Giants
Molly Eichten discusses the highly debated Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) first introduced by Representative Lamar Smith from Texas in October 2011.
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The Computer Fraud and Abuse Act--A Survey of Recent Cases
Molly Eichten was recently published in The Business Lawyer for her article on "The Computer Fraud and Abuse Act--A Survey of Recent Cases."
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Washington Becomes Third State to Enact a Law Connected to PCI DSS
Anyone who deals with credit card data is probably familiar with the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard. PCI DSS requires anyone who stores, processes, or handles payment cards to meet certain technical and process requirements. Larger merchants and service providers must pass regular external security assessments, and everyone subject to PCI DSS must undergo frequent scans for technical vulnerabilities. Failure to comply with PCI DSS can lead to significant fines in the event of a data breach.
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Domain Name Registration Should Be Part of Business Strategy
A recent court case out of New York underscores the importance of including domain name registration as part of important corporate strategies, such as in mergers and acquisitions. In late 2008, on the same day that Bank of America Corp. alerted the media that it had acquired Merrill Lynch & Co, Inc. a cybersquatter registered the domain names "bofaml.com" and "mlbofa.com."
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Dispute over "Who's Your Patty?" Underscores the Benefits of Registering Trademarks
In October 2009, a single-location restaurant named "Lion's Tap" based in Eden Prairie, Minnesota, sued McDonald's for trademark infringement for use of the tagline "Who's Your Patty?" in connection with McDonald's new Angus burger. So how is it that a single-location restaurant can confidently file a lawsuit against one of the world's largest restaurant franchisors?
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Trademark Protection Still an Open Question in New Generic Top Level Domains
The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN), the non-profit organization that administers the unique identifiers for the Internet, released its third draft of proposed procedures of the new generic Top Level Domain (gTLD) system. The TLD is to the right of the "dot" in an Internet domain name (e.g., ".com"). The proposed new system will allow virtually any gTLD to become part of the TLD system.
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FTC to Regulate Bloggers Who Endorse Products
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has long prohibited deceptive and unfair business practices that affect American consumers. To assist businesses in avoiding such practices, the FTC publishes what it terms "Guides" on topics such as product endorsements and testimonials. Until this week, it was not entirely clear to what extent the FTC's rules apply to bloggers who review and endorse products, even though most would agree that it has long been clear that advertisers were already responsible for misleading blog entries that were done at the request of the advertisers. Unbeknownst to many consumers, bloggers sometimes receive compensation (through cash or free products) from companies in exchange for favorable reviews of their products.
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Can Productive Employees Co-Exist With Social Media?
Michael Fleming and Molly Eichten discuss what employers can do to address the issue of social media in the workplace.
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Amazon Erases Purchased E-Books From Kindle
In what appears to be great irony, in mid July, Amazon deleted purchased e-book copies of George Orwell's "1984" and "Animal Farm" from buyers' personal Kindle devices without notifying the buyers. In the book "1984," the government censors all information that would be damaging to Big Brother. Ironic then that Amazon deleted Orwell's controversial e-book after learning that it had sold unauthorized copies of the e-book, subjecting Amazon to claims of copyright infringement.
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Goldman Sachs Settles with Blogger in Trademark Infringement Dispute
Goldman Sachs and a Florida blogger recently settled over the issue of whether the blogger's websites infringed on Goldman Sachs' trademark rights. The settlement allows the blogger to continue use of the sites so long as there is a visible disclaimer that the sites are not affiliated with Goldman Sachs. When the blogger agreed to the disclaimer, the firm agreed that it would not proceed with its trademark infringement claims.
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Facebook Lawsuit Heats Up Over Control of User Data
A battle has ensued in a California court over the control of user-owned data (i.e., content) on social networking sites. Power.com, an aggregating service that permits users to log into multiple social networking sites at one time, filed a countersuit against Facebook on July 9, 2009. Power.com seeks to resolve issues of control and ownership of user data on social networking sites, and asserts that Facebook is illegally restricting data that users create.
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Nevada Updates Encryption Law to Require Data Security Compliance and Encryption on Data Storage Devices
Last October, a new Nevada law took effect that required encryption of all personal data in transit. In response to criticisms that the law was too vague, the Nevada legislature recently enacted S.B. 277, clarifying the encryption requirements.
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Text Messages Provide Yet Another Type of Electronic Evidence
A soccer coach from Central Michigan University was fired after two female athletes alleged that he had sexually harassed them. This March, the University settled the harassment claim with the athletes for a little over $450,000. What evidence did the two young women have of the coach's alleged impropriety? Inappropriate text messages.
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Facebook Provides Mechanism to Prevent Use of Trademarks as Usernames
A seemingly innocuous change to the Facebook service is yet another thing for trademark owners to pay immediate attention to in order to avoid a "squatter" using a trademark as a username on a Facebook page.
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Author of Sequel to
Author J.D. Salinger filed a lawsuit in New York on June 1, 2009, to stop the publication of an unauthorized sequel to Salinger's classic 1951 American novel The Catcher in the Rye. The complaint alleges that the sequel, 60 Years Later: Coming through the Rye, infringes Salinger's copyrights in both The Catcher in the Rye and the main character Holden Caulfield.
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FTC Delays Enforcement of Rules for Identity Theft Policies
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announced that it will delay enforcement of the “Red Flags Rule” until August 1, 2009, to “give creditors and financial institutions more time to develop and implement written identity theft prevention programs.” The Red Flags Rule affects any business that regularly extends credit or permits deferred payments for goods or services. Such businesses must implement programs to identify, detect, and respond to activities that may indicate identity theft.
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Using Others' Trademarks as Keywords Continues to Be a Risky Practice
This week, another federal appeals court held that using someone else's trademark in keyword metadata constitutes "use in commerce" - a requirement for bringing a trademark infringement claim against another party.
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