Lick this!

The United States Postal Service issued 86 million stamps containing the image of a sculpture on display at the Korean War Memorial in Washington D.C.   The USPS obtained a license from the photographer—but not the sculptor.

So, sculptor sues and says it would have licensed the image for a 10% royalty rate.  Damages would then be in the 3 million dollar range.  The trial court said nyet and awarded $5,000.00—because that is the amount the USPS said it would have paid had it elected to follow the law and obtain a license.  However, the COA (Federal Circuit) says the trial judge got it wrong and must weigh the licensor’s hypothetical rate.

Here’s the opinion: http://www.cafc.uscourts.gov/images/stories/opinions-orders/11-5097.pdf

Unfortunately, there is no dicta about how I can stop delivery of the only thing that appears in my mailbox anymore–junk.

What a tool

Sasha Cohen (aka “Bruno”, “Borat”, etc.) represents all that is wrong with modern comedy–obnoxious, mean, snarky, and rather unfunny.  

I was saddened to hear that he skated from yet another lawsuit.  Probably the right decision, though…the judge has to “filter out” unprotectable elements of a creative work (i.e.  common plots or ideas) and determine if infringement exists in the remaining parts. 

Here’s a link to the story: http://blogs.wsj.com/law/2010/08/11/he-was-wearing-velcro-but-the-lawsuit-didnt-stick/

Quick read re: Trademarks

I do some trademark work and love it because it (in my opinion) is a hybrid between IP, litigation, and business law.

Here’s a link to an article about some high-profile trademark disputes that involved small business owners.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704895204575321230041321508.html?mod=WSJ_hps_editorsPicks_2

Worth the read

The Washington Times summarizes five top copyright cases which were decided in 2009:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/12/18/AR2009121803800.html?wpisrc=nl_pmtech