The Companies Behind the #WTFU
If you follow vloggers like Nostalgia Critic or Honest Trailers, you might be familiar with the hashtag #WTFU. No, it’s not an acronym for a rude phrase—it stands for “Where…
U.S. v. Apple: National Security v. Individual Privacy
Are computer programs predominantly expressive conduct like a book, or just functional devices like machines? Do computer programs deserve the First Amendment protection of free speech? These are crucial issues…
Set-Top Boxing: The Proposed FCC Regulations That Could Shake Up TV Access
On February 18, the FCC voted 3-2 in favor of adopting a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (“NPRM”) in the matter of “Expanding Consumers’ Video Navigation Choices; Commercial Availability of Navigation…
Rethinking Enhanced Damages: Stryker Oral Arguments
Last week the Supreme Court heard argument in Stryker Corp., et al. v. Zimmer, Inc., et al., docket no. 14-1520, which was the first time this term that the Court…
Copyright: The Right Move?
Whether it is General Zod, The Eradicator, or Lex Luther, no force has ever been able to defeat Superman. But over the past seventy years, there has been a force…
Copyright of Meme-Saturated, Appropriation Culture
In November 2015, a Twitter user by the name of @updog7 scanned and posted every page of Josh Ostrovsky’s (@thefatjewish) book, Money Pizza Respect, on Twitter. Updog7 does not appear to…
After More Than 15 Years, the Federal Circuit Clarifies the “Actual Notice” Requirement for Post-publication, Pre-issuance Patent Infringement
The American Inventor’s Protection Act (AIPA) was passed in 1999 and added § 154(d) to title 35 of the United States Code, which provides a remedy for patent applicants for post-publication, pre-issuance patent infringement.…
Make America Great Again™ (but only for Trump)
Primaries are not the only thing Donald Trump has been winning as of late, and we have the United States Patent and Trademark Office to thank for that. On November…
Applying Classic Contract Interpretation Principles to New Media Contracts
The entertainment industry is as much defined by its technology as by the writers, performers, and producers that comprise it. Although it is clear from today’s 3D Imax mega-theaters that…
The IP Implications of Video Game Mods
The size of the video game industry has expanded greatly from the early 2000s to the present. There are more games being released and sold today than ever before. However,…