By JLTA Staff Writer
The Sixth Circuit recently affirmed a lower court’s holding that the mark “Texas Toast” on packages of croutons was generic and thus not protectable under trademark law. T. Marzetti Co. v. Roskam Baking Co., No. 10-3784, 2012 WL 1889310 (6th Cir. May 25, 2012). Continue reading
Photo credit: jsdart of Flickr
By Daniel Shickich
Citing the powers granted in Amendments 19, 24 and 26, Democratic Representative John Lewis and cosponsors House Democratic whip Steny H. Hoyer, Assistant Democratic Leader James Clyburn, Representative John Conyers, and Representative Robert Brady introduced a new bill into the U.S. House of Representatives that aims at improving voter access to the ballot box in part by moving voting registration online. Continue reading
Photo credit: evsmitty of Flickr
By Colin Conerton
After over a decade and a half, deceased American rapper Tupac Shakur is still making noise, but this time, not by way of music charts, but in the realm of intellectual property law. This past April at the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival, Tupac made his posthumous debut on stage via a hologram like image during Dr. Dre and Snoop Dogg’s festival performance. The Coachella audience (I was there), and people across the world were amazed to see a resurrected Tupac on stage interacting with the crowd seamlessly along with the two living legends beside him. Soon thereafter, music industry execs began eyeing the potential of this technology applied to other deceased artists such as John Lennon, Michael Jackson, and Jimmy Hendrix. According to Nick Smith, the president of AV Concepts—the company behind the Tupac hologram—“[y]ou can take [the artists’] likenesses and voice and . . . take people that haven’t done concerts before or perform music they haven’t sung and digitally recreate it.” Thus, it would seem, the possibilities are endless for truly unique uses of holographic artists in both a commercial and non-commercial setting. Continue reading
Photo credit: Rafael Anderson Gonzales Mendoza (andercismo) of Flickr
By Spencer Hutchins
There was another collision this week at the intersection of Facebook and Privacy.
A high school principal resigned following allegations that she created a fake Facebook account in order to spy on students and parents. While the uneasy relationship between social media and personal privacy continues to present challenges, certain community standards appear to be set firmly in place. For example, Facebook spying by authority figures is right out.
Photo credit: Hummy from flickr
By Kerra Melvin
According to the National Crime Prevention Council (NCPC), cyberbullying “happens when teens use the Internet, cell phones, or other devices to send or post text or images intended to hurt or embarrass another person.” The prevalence of cyberbullying has exploded as more and more teens have social media profiles and possess mobile phones with text messaging capabilities. While results of studies vary, it has been estimated that between 10 percent and 40 percentof teens have been victims of cyberbullying. It is no surprise, then, that cyberbullying disputes are making their way into state and federal courts. Continue reading
