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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
Whois, We Hardly Knew Ye: GDPR Spells Doom For Domain Name Ownership Transparency
Blog May 04, 2018
By now, our readers are likely familiar with the General Data Protection Regulation (“GDPR”), the sweeping, European Union-wide legal and regulatory regime that provides enhanced protections for personal data.  The GDPR, which goes in effect on May 25, 2018, is expected to reshape the digital data landscape in the EU and beyond.  My colleague Catherine Muyl (from our Paris office) provided a helpful GDPR overview back in January…
Sue-per Bowl Shuffle IV: The Year In NFL-Related Intellectual Property Litigation
Blog January 30, 2018
If you are a lawyer, there is a serious danger that someone at the Super Bowl party you attend is going to want to talk about an NFL-related legal issue. Did Cowboys owner Jerry Jones really have standing to challenge Commissioner Roger Goodell's salary package? What is the status of Colin Kaepernick's collusion lawsuit…
Sue-per Bowl Shuffle III: The Year In NFL-Related Intellectual Property Litigation
Blog January 30, 2017
Two years ago, I started worrying about what would happen if someone at a Super Bowl party asked me to explain an NFL-related lawsuit, particularly one of those intellectual property lawsuits that sports fans assume IP lawyers know about. This anxiety led me to put together the Sue-per Bowl Shuffle I and Sue-per Bowl Shuffle II: guides to trademark, copyright, patent and other intellectual property disputes concerning the NFL during 2014 and 2015 respectively…
A Trademark Year In Wine And Beer 2016: Our Holiday Buyer's Guide To Disputed Beverages
Blog December 06, 2016
Just in time for the holiday season, we present our third annual Trademark Year in Wine and Beer, a wrap-up  of alcohol-related trademark and trademark-ish disputes dating back to December 2015, when we published our last edition. Our scope includes lawsuits brought in U.S. Courts, actions before the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (“TTAB”), arbitrations pursuant to the  Uniform Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy (“UDRP”)…
The Pleads Of The Many: 50 Years of Star Trek Lawsuits
Blog July 18, 2016
This year marks the fiftieth anniversary of the premiere of the original series of Star Trek, which first aired on NBC in September 1966. On July 22, this milestone will be marked in earnest when Paramount Pictures releases the new film, Star Trek Beyond (which sadly includes the final Chekovian performance by the recently-departed Anton Yelchin)…
From Runway to Replica: Intellectual Property Strategies for Protecting Fashion Designs
Blog February 08, 2016
Designers like Alexander Wang, Rebecca Minkoff, and Michael Kors are all gearing up to premier their 2016 fall/winter collections this month during New York Fashion Week.  Fashion Week draws more than 230,000 attendees each year to over 500 runway shows and events in New York City.  The economic impact of this biannual event is estimated to be close to $900 million…
Sue-per Bowl Shuffle II: The Year in NFL-Related Intellectual Property Litigation
Blog February 01, 2016
Around this time last year, I started worrying about what would happen if someone at a Super Bowl party asked me to explain an NFL-related lawsuit, particularly one of those IP-ish lawsuits that I'm supposed to know about. So I put together the first Sue-per Bowl Shuffle, a guide to the year's gridiron disputes over trademarks, copyright, the right of publicity and other matters with a First Amendment flavor…
Trademark and Copyright Law Blog Welcomes Natasha Reed                                                            as Author and Counsel in Foley Hoag's New York Practice
Blog January 07, 2016
We are delighted to welcome Natasha Reed as counsel in Foley Hoag's Intellectual Property Department and more importantly for present purposes as our newest blogger. She'll join Peter Sullivan in our New York City Office and on the author column of the blog. Natasha has helped owners of some of the world's most recognized brands in the luxury goods…
The Twelve Res of Christmas: Yule-Themed IP Matters in 2015
Blog December 15, 2015
It is often said Christmas is creeping ever-backwards, each year striving to begin its domination of our collective consciousness and consumer dollars at an earlier date. In the realm of litigation, Christmas creep manifests itself in part in the Yule-themed disputes that can occur at any time of the year, particularly in the areas of intellectual property and free speech. In order to get the Trademark and Copyright Law Blog into the holiday spirit…
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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.

Webinar Series

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.