Intellectual Property

Justin Bieber Wins First Round Against “Joustin’ Beaver”

Well, this exists: Needless to say, this drew a cease-and-desist letter from Bieber's lawyers, and the company selling the app responded with a declaratory judgment action against Bieber in Florida, where it's located. It portrayed the app as a "parody…


Ecce las Velas (Behold the Candles)

Following up on yesterday's post about the lady who painted over Jesus and now wants royalties—according to a Reddit post, these are currently on sale in Los Angeles: Looks like Ms. Jiménez (or the artist's heirs, or both) may need…


Ecce Abogado (Behold the Lawyer)

You may recall the incident last month in which an elderly parishioner of the Sanctuary of Mercy church near Zaragosa, Spain, decided on her own to try to restore a deteriorating fresco of Jesus, with unfortunate results: According to one…


“Your Honor, First of All, I’m Not Smoking Crack”

This is something you'd really prefer to get through your entire legal career without having to say. From a report today in Ars Technica: SAN JOSE, CALIFORNIA—Testimony in the giant Apple v. Samsung patent trial is entering its final hours, and nerves…


Patent No. 5,443,036: Method of Exercising a Cat

Some days I'm just too tired to jiggle a piece of string. If only there were an easier and more convenient way to get my cat to engage in voluntary aerobic exercise…. Utilizing the method set forth in this patent,…



Hooray for Jack Daniels (and Its Lawyers)

Especially given the recent Charles Carreon nastiness, it is nice to get a reminder that many lawyers are not (and need not be) assholes. Cease-and-desist letters are a frequent source of evidence to the contrary. These are often necessary in…



How to Comply With a Cease-and-Desist Letter But Still Win

It appears that the Freetail Brewing Company, a brewpub in San Antonio, recently got a nastygram from lawyers for a company in some other state demanding that it cease and desist from using the mark "HOPASAURUS REX" in connection with one…


Anti-Piracy Anthem Allegedly Pirated

Boing Boing reports that a Dutch musician is claiming somebody has pirated the anthem he wrote for an anti-piracy video by also using it in DVDs, which he says he didn't authorize and hasn't been paid for. Melchior Rietveldt, who should…