Better to be Absolutely Ridiculous Than Absolutely Generic: The Estate of Marilyn Monroe’s Trademark Woes

Picture1By Gwen Wei

On Monday, March 13 2017, a ruling in the Southern District of New York threw trademark practitioners nationwide into a tumult when the presiding judge left open the possibility that a celebrity name could become too generic to enforce as a trademark. The issue: the court’s “serious doubts that V. International will be able to establish that the contested marks are generic”, pitted against its concern that “[r]eaching that conclusion at this state would be premature.”  The celebrity hanging in the balance: Marilyn Monroe. Continue reading

How to Fight Fake News in a World Spewing Alternative Facts

Picture1By Mackenzie Olson

Before you re-share an online article, before you give weight to its assertions—before you even begin to read the first line—ask yourself one question: “Does this look like a credible source?”

At a young age, I learned that I must first ask this question before citing to any given resource in a research paper or project. Accordingly, I learned where to look for reputable sources, how to determine which of these sources were credible, and the ways in which to best use these sources to locate further acceptable resources.

I was surprised when I learned just how frequently Internet users are duped into reading, believing, and ultimately re-sharing fake news stories. In the months immediately prior to the 2016 U.S. presidential election, the top performing fake news stories generated more engagement than the top performing real stories published by major news outlets. These leading fake stories generated over 8.7 million shares, reactions, and comments on social media, while the leading stories published by major news outlets generated about 7.3 million similar reactions. Continue reading

Demolition Man Seeks Retribution Against Motion Pictures Studio

Picture1By Samuel J. Daheim

“[Sylvester] Stallone is one of the greatest American talents of the last and present century,” explains a complaint filed in Los Angeles County Superior Court by Rogue Marble Productions Inc., Stallone’s “loan out company.” Stallone has achieved critical acclaim “as an actor, filmmaker, producer, director and screenwriter, but is most well-known for his Hollywood action roles.”  Stallone is suing Warner Bros. Entertainment over allegations that the film company breached its contract with Stallone and Rogue Marble for the former’s work in the 1993 science-fiction film “Demolition Man” (the Film).  Continue reading

Off the Walls

Picture1By Danielle Ollero

Grafitti is often considered a form of vandalism, or a criminal act. However, at the 5Pointz building in Queens New York, it is the white washers who are being called vandals. Continue reading

Let’s Fight Nazis

Picture1By Jessy R. Nations

Dear Internet, I hope you’re happy. Just look what you did. You went and made Nazis again. Seriously, what were you thinking? It’s 2017 for crying out loud. I thought we all decided Nazis were bad like 50 years ago. But no, you just had to keep pushing that envelope. Now we have to do this for the next few years.

Under the guise of “free speech,” open racism and white supremacy have been on the rise. Whether they call themselves “Identarians,” “racial realists,” or the “Alt-Right,” these groups are everywhere. They’ve cleaned up their image and streamlined their rhetoric, but their core principle is the same: White people are better than everyone else, and are under attack from all the various minorities who should be removed by any means necessary. And it’s far more than just talk these days. To make matters worse, they’re recruiting. I vaguely recall a time when being openly racist would make you a social pariah. Now this behavior can land you a book deal, get you invited to talk shows, and give you a tour for you to speak at college campuses where you can threaten trans and immigrant students while your fans shoot protesters. In the interest of combating racism, this blog post offers a brief guide on how to spot these lunatics as well as some thoughts on what the law can do before they starting shooting up schools. Continue reading