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Trademark Law

The Crucial Role of a Certificate of Clearance in Film Financing: Insights from Lawyer Ernest Goodman

Financiers and distributors are pivotal in transforming screenplays into cinematic realities. However, their support comes with a caveat: a strict adherence to legal assurances. Without a certificate of clearance, these entities fear the legal repercussions of copyright infringement, which can lead to costly lawsuits and project derailments. Hence, they typically refrain from financing projects lacking this essential document....

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How to Sell Your Screenplay at a Major Film Festival (Santa Barbara, Sundance, etc.)

Selling a screenplay at a festival is about relationships, persistence, and strategic networking. Don't go expecting to sell on the spot—focus on making connections that lead to future opportunities. By researching attendees, preparing your pitch, and networking effectively, you can increase your chances of getting your screenplay into the right hands....

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Copyright and AI-Generated Works: What You Need to Know

The rise of artificial intelligence in content creation has raised complex legal questions, particularly regarding copyright ownership and intellectual property rights. The U.S. Copyright Office and courts have consistently held that copyright protection applies only to works created by human authors. This means that works fully generated by AI—without substantial human creative input—are not eligible for copyright under current law....

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Increased Enforcement of IP Infringement in the Age of AI – Know Your Rights

Copyright owners are also aggressively enforcing their rights through AI-powered searches. Many demand letters accuse content creators of using copyrighted images, videos, music, or text without permission. Even small portions of copyrighted material can trigger enforcement actions....

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Trademark Clearance for Fiction Writers: Navigating Nominative Fair Use

When writing fiction, authors often incorporate real-world brands, products, and trademarks to lend authenticity to their stories. For instance, a character might drive an old Ford pickup, sip Coke at a restaurant, or even own a vintage airplane. While this adds realism, it raises legal questions about trademark use....

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Creating an Intellectual Property (IP) Portfolio: Lessons from Mayo and Myriad cases

The Mayo and Myriad rulings emphasize that just isolating a natural substance or applying a law of nature to a process is not enough to secure patent protection. These decisions have significantly affected how companies approach the creation of an IP portfolio, particularly in the life sciences and biotechnology sectors. With this context in mind, building an effective IP strategy today requires careful consideration of patent eligibility and an understanding of the legal landscape shaped by these key rulings....

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Common Law Trademarks

Imagine this scenario: You start a film production company in California and use a distinctive name for your business over several years. By consistently operating under this specific name, you naturally acquire common law trademark rights. These rights play a crucial role in protecting your business's identity. They essentially prevent other film production companies in the same geographical area from using an identical or confusingly similar name. This form of protection is grounded in unfair competition laws, which are designed to avoid confusion among consumers and safeguard the reputation and brand recognition you've established for your film production company....

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Descriptive Trademarks: The Challenges of Registration

Descriptive trademarks, therefore, occupy a middle ground. Unlike generic terms, they can achieve trademark status, but unlike suggestive marks, they do not start out with inherent distinctiveness. To be protectable, a descriptive mark must cross a threshold where the primary significance in the minds of the consuming public is not the product but the producer. This is the concept of acquired distinctiveness or secondary meaning....

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Exploring the Polaroid Doctrine in Trademark Law

The Polaroid Doctrine, which is a fundamental concept in United States trademark law, was established by the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit. This doctrine emerged from the 1961 case of Polaroid Corp. v. Polarad Elecs. Corp., where the court developed a set of factors to assess the likelihood of consumer confusion in trademark infringement cases....

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