Five months ago, designer brands complained that Alibaba wasn’t doing enough to rid its site of counterfeiters. Now, the e-commerce megasite claims that it’s being victimized by fakes — not bogus products, but allegedly false complaints about vendors selling counterfeit products. [More]
intellectual property
Sports Authority Taking Bids For Broncos Stadium Naming Rights Again
By 7.14.16
Mile High is a fantastic name for a sporting venue, so you can’t blame the people of Denver for for wanting to keep it for the stadium where the Broncos play. Instead, the entity that runs the stadium sells the naming rights to the football field, which the now-defunct sporting goods retailer Sports Authority bought in 2011. After not selling in the company’s intellectual property auction, the naming rights are for sale separately. Bids are due on Tuesday, July 19, at 3 PM Mountain time. If you’re interested. [More]
Report: Dick’s Wins Sports Authority Brand, Including Domain Names
By 6.30.16
In the future, when you forget that Sports Authority went out of business and type in their website address, you’ll end up on a page owned by the defunct retailer’s biggest competitor. Dick’s Sporting Goods reportedly scooped up the Sports Authority name, including its domain names and customer mailing lists, for $15 million in the company’s intellectual property auction. [More]
Gillette Suing Dollar Shave Club Claiming Razor Subscription Service Infringes On Its Patents
By 12.17.15
With all those lumbersexuals and their bushy beards taking a big cut out of the razor business, it’s no surprise that competition is fierce. In an effort to protect its slice of the market, Gillette is suing online subscription razor service Dollar Shave Club for violation of intellectual property. [More]
Beyoncé, Jay Z, Others Claim Retailer Is Selling Products Bearing Their Likenesses Without Permission
By 10.8.15
When you’re as famous as Beyoncé, Jay Z, Kanye West, Pharrell Williams or Rihanna, your face is literally your fortune — and fans are most definitely willing to pay to get a piece of their favorite artists. That’s why those musicians are jointly suing a Paris clothing company, alleging that it’s been peddling products using their likenesses without having the right to do so. [More]
RadioShack Bankruptcy Math: The Better-Known Your Company Is, The Less Its Name Is Worth
By 5.5.15
Bids are due tomorrow in the auction for RadioShack’s intellectual property. Consumerist has ultimately decided not to offer twenty bucks for TheShack.com, but we’re still following the auction with interest. Mostly, we’re wondering who is interested in the big prize: the right to call oneself “RadioShack.” [More]
RadioShack’s New Owners Don’t Really Care About Buying The RadioShack Name
By 4.13.15
RadioShack still exists. Well, stores that say “RadioShack” on them still exist, but those are a joint venture between the Shack’s new owners and Sprint. While the stores have kept their doors open, there’s one thing missing from the business plan: this new venture doesn’t own the RadioShack trademark yet. They aren’t too worried about it, though. [More]
Barefoot Contessa Suing California Company Over Unauthorized “Contessa Chef Inspired” Frozen Dinners
By 2.18.15
Having a famous brand might sound pretty awesome, but with a name everyone recognizes comes the hassle of trying to protect that name from others out there trying to make a buck off it. Food Network host Ina Garten, aka the Barefoot Contessa, is preparing to do battle to keep her brand her own, suing a California company for selling what she calls unauthorized look-alikes of her frozen dinners. [More]
BlackBerry Suing Makers Of Slip-On iPhone Keyboard Again, Claiming New Version Is Infringement
By 2.17.15
BlackBerry has a bone to pick with Typo, the makers of a slip-on iPhone keyboard that the mobile phone company already sued once with claims that the case infringes on its patents, and it’s not ready to let that bone go anytime soon. A new lawsuit against Typo is now on the books, this time aimed at the company’s second iteration of slip-on accessories [More]
Judge Rules That Artist’s Lawsuit Over “Angry Birds” Plush Pet Toys Can Move Forward
By 12.16.14
A Seattle artist suing a pet company for allegedly cutting her out of a deal to license a line of plush “Angry Birds” pet toys to Rovio, creators of the popular video game, has won a battle in her legal war. A federal judge has refused to dismiss her lawsuit, saying she’s made a case for her claim that she retained intellectual property rights in the “Angry Birds” trademark. [More]
Artist Claims Pet Toy Company Made Millions Off Her “Angry Birds” Design Without Paying Her
By 8.5.14
A Seattle artist who designed a line of plush pet toys called “Angry Birds” back in 2006 is now suing the company that sold them, claiming it cut her out of the process — and millions of dollars — when it licensed the design to the makers of the popular Angry Birds game. [More]
Redbook Ticks Off Internet After Copying Blogger’s Idea
By 12.31.12
Here’s the thing about the Internet: It can facilitate the spreading of ideas and information at an astounding rate, but this dissemination can come at the expense of that materials’ source. So at what point does a cool notion go from being the brainchild of an individual to becoming something owned by the faceless hive mind? [More]
California Environmental Nonprofit Says State Redesigned License Plate To Cut It Out Of Royalties
By 8.4.11
The California Coastal Commission unveiled a new license plate design featuring a whale’s tale tweaked slightly from the previous design, and an environmental nonprofit said the state did so because the artist who created the previous design asked for royalties to help fund the organization. [More]
Original Madden Video Game Creator Sues EA For Billions
By 4.4.11
Sports simulation games take strides to replicate their real-life counterparts, but Madden NFL game publisher EA would rather not be facing a legal dispute that somewhat echoes the NFL’s labor troubles. [More]
Some Hotmail Users Report Vanishing Accounts — Microsoft Says Problem Is Fixed
By 1.3.11
Whenever you clean out your Hotmail inbox, you get a message complimenting you on the feat. Some Hotmail users reportedly found themselves with an accidentally clean inbox due to an apparent server error that has deleted their accounts [More]
Fox Sues Screenwriter With Script Database For $15M
By 11.29.10
Instead of messing with Wolverine, smarmy Marvel anti-hero Deadpool has his sights set on a Long Island screenwriter. He’s called upon his bosses at 20th Century Fox to sue the writer for $15 million because she posted Fox screenplays, including an early copy of the script from his upcoming movie, the New York Post reports. [More]
Nintendo Wants To Trademark "It's On Like Donkey Kong"
By 11.10.10
Even though people have been using the phrase “It’s on like Donkey Kong” for two decades, Nintendo has just gotten around to filing a request with the Patent and Trademark office to slap a little “TM” on those words. [More]
Conan Dares NBC To Sue Him Over Masturbating Bear
By 10.27.10
It’s always tricky when a popular talk show host changes networks and tries to bring some of his associated gags and characters along with them. That’s the situation facing Conan O’Brien as he preps to launch his new TBS show and expects the suits at his former network NBC to have some complaints. [More]
