intellectual property

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When Girls' Dolls 'Leaned In,' and Why It's All a 'Sham'

Closer look at intellectual property war between Barbie and Bratz reveals much deeper stuff

(Newser) - Barbie dolls have dominated the toy landscape for girls since their 1959 intro—which made it a big deal when Bratz dolls hit the scene in 2001 and started stealing market share, spurring a years-long legal war between Barbie maker Mattel and Bratz creator MGA, a Mattel competitor. As Jill...

Trump Thinks China Rips Off US Businesses, May Act Soon

He's poised to open an official investigation against Beijing

(Newser) - Either President Trump is about to get tough on China over trade or the White House wants Beijing to think he's about to get tough on trade. The White House is putting the word out that the president thinks China is ripping off American businesses and aims to take...

Edward Albee Left a Controversial Final Wish

Playwright's will instructs executors to destroy all his unfinished manuscripts

(Newser) - When Franz Kafka died, he left instructions for his friend Max Brod to incinerate any incomplete works—a request Brod ignored, which led to the publishing of The Castle and The Trial, among other writings. Edward Albee also wanted to avoid such posthumous publications, and the New York Times reports...

Google Lawsuit Just Made Uber's Lousy Month Even Worse

Complaint says ex-Google engineer Anthony Levandowski stole proprietary secrets

(Newser) - Uber hasn't had a good week . Actually, Uber hasn't had a good month . But the bad news isn't over yet: The ride-sharing company is being sued by Waymo, the self-driving car unit of Google parent Alphabet, over accusations that an ex-manager of Google's autonomous car project...

'Blurred Lines' Lawyer Has Long Been a Disrupter

But this case may be Richard Busch's 'most satisfying'

(Newser) - A jury has found that Robin Thicke's inescapable song "Blurred Lines" borrowed a little too heavily from Marvin Gaye —and that ruling may owe a lot to lawyer Richard Busch, who represented Gaye's family, the New York Times reports in a profile of the man who...

Sweden Raids Pirate Bay, Takes Site Down

File-sharing site was targeted during reported data center sweep

(Newser) - The Pirate Bay is down for the count after a raid on one of the file-sharing company's server rooms in Sweden yesterday, Reuters reports. "We had a crackdown on a server room in Greater Stockholm because of a copyright infringement, and yes it was Pirate Bay,"...

Obama Cracks Down on Patent Trolls

He'll issue executive order to try to curb abuses

(Newser) - President Obama plans to issue five executive orders today aimed at slaying, or at least curtailing, patent trolls—companies that amass a lot of patents purely for licensing and litigation purposes. Obama's orders will, among other things, ask the Patent and Trademark Office to take a harder look at...

Apple's Samsung Apology Mocks 'Not as Cool' Tablet

Uses judge's own words in public posting

(Newser) - Remember when Apple was ordered to post an embarrassing mea culpa on its UK website, proclaiming publicly that Samsung didn't copy the iPad? Well, Apple has complied —and in the court-ordered 14-point font —but with a distinct lack of contrition, quoting extensively from the judge's ruling...

Apple Wins Big: Judge Bans Sales of Samsung Tablet

Galaxy Tab 10.1 ruling marks Apple's 'greatest victory yet' in patent battle

(Newser) - The Galaxy Tab 10.1 is such an iPad rip-off that it can no longer be sold in the US, a district court judge announced yesterday, issuing a preliminary injunction against the sale of Samsung's tablet. Samsung "does not have a right to compete unfairly by flooding the...

Online Piracy Bill Becomes Major Battle

Lobbyists dig in over controversial SOPA measure

(Newser) - A battle is heating up on Capitol Hill over a controversial new bill targeting online piracy. Yesterday Google, Facebook, Yahoo and other web companies took out full-page newspaper ads railing against the House’s recently introduced Stop Online Piracy Act, even as supporters sung its praises at a hearing. “...

Crist Has to Apologize Over David Byrne Song

... on YouTube, no less

(Newser) - Former Florida Gov. Charlie Crist had to eat crow today—on YouTube. As part of a settlement with David Byrne for using a Talking Heads song without permission, Crist had to post a video with a formal apology, reports the Orlando Sentinel . "I pledge that, should there be any...

Jeff Koons Says He Owns Balloon Dogs
 Jeff Koons Says He 
 Owns Balloon Dogs 
Irony alert
Jan 20, 2011 1:39 PM CST

Jeff Koons Says He Owns Balloon Dogs

Artist files copyright complaint against bookend maker

(Newser) - Jeff Koons, the pop artist famous for making shiny, 10-foot-tall statues in the shape of balloon-animal dogs, is now taking legal action against a company that makes book-ends in a similar shape, and a gallery gift shop that sells them. Which is pretty ironic, the New York Times points out,...

Carlos the Jackal Sues to Protect Image

From prison, terrorist claims life as his intellectual property

(Newser) - Ilich Ramírez Sánchez, the imprisoned international terrorist better known as Carlos the Jackal, is suing a French production company making a documentary about him, demanding final cut on the film. Ramírez argues that the film will violate his intellectual property rights to his “biographical image” unless...

Skype Sale in Doubt as Founders Sue eBay

Techies alleges copyright violation costing them $75M a day

(Newser) - The founders of Skype are suing eBay and the investor consortium buying the Internet phone company, accusing them of copyright violation, reports the Wall Street Journal. The suit is only the latest bump in eBay's disastrous ownership of Skype and may complicate the planned $2 billion sale. Janus Friis and...

Leibovitz's $24M Deadline Looms Tuesday

Photographer may be forced to file for bankruptcy

(Newser) - Annie Leibovitz's $24 million question looms Tuesday, the AP reports: Will the photographer of the stars be able to repay a $24 million loan or lose the rights to her catalog of iconic photographs. With such a staggering amount due in only a few days, Leibovitz’s best option...

Real-World Lawyers Set Up Shop in Second Life

(Newser) - A bed designed for avatar sex? That's intellectual property. An agreement between virtual real estate developers? It's an oral contract. Or so say some lawyers, who are opening offices to handle disputes in the virtual, online world of Second Life, the San Francisco Chronicle reports. "It's an emerging area...

Chinese Court Sentences Microsoft Pirates

11 jailed for counterfeit software ring with 'unprecedented' scope

(Newser) - A Chinese court has convicted 11 people of violating copyright laws and sentenced them to as much as 6 1/2  years of prison for working with a counterfeiting ring that sold fake Microsoft products around the world. Microsoft hailed the crackdown on the pirates, whose organization may have made $2...

Court: Lego Can't Trademark Bricks' Shape

Competitor argued that blocks' shape served 'technical' purpose

(Newser) - A European Union court ruled today that Lego can’t trademark the shape of its iconic toy building blocks, Bloomberg reports. The court supported a 2006 decision by the EU trademark agency that said because the raised circles on Lego blocks serve a “utilitarian function,” they are ineligible...

Rowling Wins Copyright Case
 Rowling Wins Copyright Case 
Sep 8, 2008 3:03 PM CDT

Rowling Wins Copyright Case

Judge rules publishing Potter encyclopedia would cause creator 'irreparable harm'

(Newser) - A fan-written "Harry Potter lexicon" will not be published, a federal judge in New York ruled today, finding for author JK Rowling that the reference guide was an infringement of copyright. The ruling held that the book would cause Rowling irreparable harm as a writer, the BBC reports. The...

Studio Went Super-Secret to Protect Batman

Anti-piracy tactics kept bootlegs from diluting buzz just long enough

(Newser) - In a dazzling covert operation, Warner Bros. kept the lid on The Dark Knight so tight pirated copies didn’t hit the Web until 2 days after its Australian premiere—long enough to keep the film’s record opening on track, the Los Angeles Times reports. Digital piracy can keep...

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