FTC Cracks Down on Potential False Testimonials
by Lisa Dubrow Lots of action this week at the FTC relating to potential violations based on false endorsements and consumer reviews and testimonials. The FTC put more than 700 companies on notice that they could incur significant civil penalties (up to $43,792 per [...]
WHAT’S IN A LIFETIME? MORE THAN YOU MIGHT THINK.
By Lisa Dubrow Offering lifetime subscription terms carries some true risks, starting with: what does “lifetime” mean? Since a subscription provides access to a product, and sometimes, free updates or other benefits as the product or technology evolves, an understanding of the actual length [...]
Important Supreme Court Case on Trademark Infringement
In a rare unanimous opinion from the Supreme Court, the Justices on April 23rd held that proving an infringer’s willful intent to infringe is not required for obtaining the infringer’s profits resulting from the infringement. In Romag Fastener, Inc. v. Fossil Group, Inc., the Court [...]
Brand New Start: Launching New Luxury Products in the Age of Social Media
Steven M Weinberg provides guidelines on launching new products in the social media and influencer age In my nearly four decades of practice, I have been fortunate to have been involved in the launch of many new products and services, as legal counsel, brand consultant, [...]
‘How I Met Your Mother’ Director Pamela Fryman & Actress Ashley Williams Team With ‘Margin Call’ Producer Neal Dodson On ‘Killing It: An Education’
How I Met Your Mother director Pamela Fryman and actress Ashley Williams, Margin Call producer Neal Dodson and producer Alan Grossbard are teaming up on an adaptation of the Penguin Random House-published memoir Killing It: An Education. Fryman, who directed all but 12 of the [...]
This is a brand’s world
Michael J Salvatore explains how to manage brands online in the social media age. Social media has become increasingly intertwined in the fabric of society and has become, for most of us, an integrated part of our everyday lives. According to one source, there will [...]
Travis Falstad says Hololens 2 is a Pragmatic and Solid Step Forward for AR
In a recent article at his new, important information resource, XRTRENDS.IO, my friend and colleague, Travis Falstad gave the following appraisal of the new Hololens 2: https://youtu.be/c_jEPRVFUvQ Los Angelenos are focused on The Oscars today. Tech news is piggybacking on that story with the [...]
The Mirror World? The AR Cloud? The Magicverse? Whatever You Call It, It’s Here, And It’s Growing!
Let’s say you’re in New York, walking by the Empire State building wearing your Magic Leap One. You look up and see the hot new Banksy virtual graffiti installation. For this to be realized, someone will have to construct a virtual Empire State Building first. [...]
Introduction to GDPR, Europe's sweeping new data protection legislation
If you or your company is working in any field in which personally identifiable information is involved, you had better take a look at this analysis, with clear steps to take, written by my French colleagues Karine Riahi and Julien Brunet of Spring Legal. Their [...]
Has the Advent of Mediated Reality Changed Intellectual Property Law?
A developer client had an idea to take a well-known franchise and breathe new life into it by creating experiences in Mediated Reality. He was worried about how intellectual property law is being changed by the new media. A failure to get the necessary clearances [...]
The Check Box: The Growing Need for Auto-Renewal Second Consent
eHarmony recently agreed to pay up to $2.2 million to resolve allegations brought by four California counties and the city of Santa Monica over the company’s advertising and billing practices. Specifically, the company agreed to comply with CA law that already requires that renewal terms [...]
Help, My Trademark is Being Audited!
In early 2017, the US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) began an initiative to “audit” 10% of all maintenance filings for existing trademark registrations. If you own a federally registered trademark, maintenance filings must be filed with the USPTO between the fifth and sixth year [...]