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Trademark, Copyright, Advertising & the Law

Providing practical knowledge, interesting updates and insights for companies and legal practitioners to help navigate complex trademark, copyright, advertising and related legal issues

Trademark, Copyright, Advertising & the Law Blog
The Hazy Landscape of Trademark Protection for Cannabis Products in the U.S.
Blog August 22, 2024
Navigating the cannabis industry’s legal landscape in the United States is like moving through an ever-evolving maze, especially in the world of intellectual property…
Georgia On Our Minds: Annotations Authored by Legislators Not Eligible for Copyright Protection
Blog May 08, 2020
On April 27, the Supreme Court took us on a stroll down memory lane in its decision in Georgia v. Public.Resource.Org, Inc., referring us back to its very first copyright case and revisiting the government edicts doctrine for the first time in more than a century. The Court, applying logic from Wheaton v. Peters, along with Banks v…
Mandatory Oversharing on Food Labels:  A Good Week for the Resistance
Blog February 05, 2019
People on social media, and in some face-to-face social settings, often reveal more about themselves than they need to or really should. When someone makes an embarrassing but unnecessary disclosure, we call it “oversharing.” We might respond, “Oh, wow, TMI” (the online code for “too much information”). Last week, two court rulings – one dismissing a litigation, and the other ruling an ordinance unconstitutional – helped food companies resist efforts by activists to compel them to……
Public Comments to the Proposed National Bioengineered Food Standard
Blog August 28, 2018
The USDA's Agricultural Marketing Service recently accepted public comments on its Proposed Rule for the labeling of bioengineered foods, as directed by the Federal Bioengineered Food Disclosure Standards Act of 2016, amending the Agricultural Marketing Act, with the comment period closing July 3.  The proposed standard, which we previously covered here, has important implications for food packaging and labeling disclosures and ultimately for false-advertising litigation exposure…
What Could the USDA's Bioengineered Food Disclosure Standard Mean  for Food Labeling Litigation?
Blog June 25, 2018
The symbol at right is one of the three candidate food labeling symbols indicating the presence of “bioengineered foods” being proposed by the Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) of the U.S. Department of Agriculture in its National Bioengineered Food Disclosure Standard (NBFDS).  Published May 4, 2018, in the form of a Proposed Rule, the standard is open for public comment until July 3.  The rather complex symbology of this carefully designed little symbol is described in the proposed……
The Foley Hoag Advertising and Marketing Law Blog: A Mission Statement of Sorts
Blog February 27, 2018
Welcome! We were delighted last month when Foley Hoag LLP named us as the new co-chairs of the firm's Advertising and Marketing Law group.  This month, as our first official act, we are pleased to announce the launch of the Advertising and Marketing Law Blog. Advertising and marketing regulation and litigation can be a complicated game.  Really complicated…
Cannabis Regulators Establish Ground Rules For Marijuana Advertising In Massachusetts
Blog February 05, 2018
With the first retail sales of adult use marijuana slated to take place in just over five months, the Massachusetts Cannabis Control Commission (the “Commission”) is working overtime to regulate an industry that some project will exceed $1 billion in revenue by 2020.  As the July 1st target date for the opening of retail cannabis shops approaches, one area that will undoubtedly become the focus of much attention is the ability of retailers to market their wares…
10 Marketing Law Takeaways From ANA/BAA 2017
Blog November 17, 2017
We just got back from the Association of National Advertising (ANA) and Brand Activation Association (BAA) Marketing Law Conference in Chicago, held earlier this week.  With hundreds in attendance, and dozens of speakers presenting over three days, it was a great opportunity to learn about “hot” trends and key issues in the advertising and marketing space from an array of stakeholders – marketers, attorneys, regulators…
Brexit: Potential Consequences For European Union Trademarks
Blog June 22, 2016
Updated June 24, 2016 A few hours ago, citizens of the United Kingdom voted in favor of leaving the European Union. This is a monumental step which historians will analyze in order to understand why and how it became possible. In the meantime, lawyers will have to figure out the consequences, including how to untangle this 60 year-old relationship. European patents should not be affected by Brexit because the Munich Convention is not a European Union instrument…
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ABOUT

Foley Hoag’s Trademark, Copyright, Advertising & the Law blog aims to provide practical knowledge and insights for companies and legal practitioners to help them navigate complex trademark, copyright, and advertising law legal issues. 

Our authors, comprised of attorneys from the firm’s Trademark, Copyright & Unfair Competition and Advertising & Marketing practices, have been active in trademark, copyright, and advertising space for decades. We advise our clients on the availability of marks and names, prepare and prosecute domestic and foreign applications for marks, and monitor and maintain thousands of registrations worldwide. We help clients exploit their brands through trademark licensing and provide clients with the legal and contractual protection they need to maximize the commercial potential of their brands without jeopardizing their rights. We have extensive experience in the policing, enforcement and defense of our clients’ trademark rights, representing our clients in civil litigation, administrative proceedings and arbitration in the U.S. and abroad. We also specialize in advising clients on trademark matters in connection with emerging media and the Internet, including domain name and Internet keyword disputes.

Our team also handles a variety of copyright matters. We offer advice regarding copyright registration and assist clients in policing and enforcing copyrights against infringers, including actions involving the Internet and the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA). We are counsel to some of the largest corporations in the U.S. in defending against claims of copyright infringement. We also focus on related complex unfair competition matters, as well as disputes involving trade secrets, false advertising, comparative advertising, defamation, and commercial disparagement. We work with clients to determine acceptable limits in client advertising and assist clients in evaluating advertising and related statements by competitors that cross the line into deception, disparagement, and defamation. We also help clients evaluate and address the theft of trade secrets, including by ex-employees, data thieves, and hackers.

Foley Hoag lawyers are leaders in their field. In addition to being well known in the business community and the courts, they are active members and leaders of the International Trademark Association, the Food and Drug Law Institute, the National Advertising Division of the Better Business Bureau, and other professional organizations. They frequently lecture, teach, and publish in the fields of trademark and unfair competition. As members of these organizations, they participate actively in shaping law and policy.

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Foley Hoag’s Trademark, Copyright & Unfair Competition practice group presents a webinar series designed exclusively for in-house counsel and business executives that discusses timely legal issues impacting business decisions in the areas of trademark, trade dress, copyright, trade secret, Internet, domain name, false advertising, defamation, commercial disparagement and other unfair competition.

Click here to subscribe to our webinar series invitation list.