The other day Peter Pachal of PCMAG.COM reported on a battle that is raging in the International Trade Commission, over some smartphone patents, between Apple and Nokia. He further reported that this battle is not the first between these electronic device Titans, but rather one of many in their struggle to achieve domination over the mobile electronics market. ( see PACHAL, P. Patent Wars begin as Apple, Nokia Square Off, PCMAG.COM (November 29, 2010)).

Now, it just so happens that this holiday season, I finally decided, under pressure from my family and many esteemed colleagues, to shop around for a wireless communications device. You know. . . a smartphone. So, the news kind of took me by surprise. Maybe it shouldn’t have. I mean after all, I am a patent attorney. But it did. So much so in fact, that it got me curious enough to go scavenging for information through the Federal Court and the International Trade Commission Systems, to see for myself as to what the whole hullaballoo was all about. Here is what I found:

Attention Incorporating Professionals! When helping clients incorporate, one must take the time to clear the name the clients have chosen for their corporation not only as a corporate or trade name, but also as a trademark. To do so, one must not only clear the name with the State Secretary of the state in which the clients have chosen to incorporate in, but one should also commission a comprehensive trademark search. Failure to do so may lead to a whole host of problems that may severely affect the clients’ income and quality of life.

Early that morning, she had received a letter demanding that she immediately cease and desist from using her domain name in connection with her company’s website and business.
“How could this be happening?” she asked. “When I incorporated my business six months ago, my accountant informed me that the name was available for incorporation. After that, I checked with one of the domain name registrars and determined that my own company name was available to use as part of a domain name. So, I went ahead and registered the domain with my company’s name. Granted my name is kind of similar to the California Company’s domain name and trademarks, but it is not identical! After all both my accountant and the domain name registrar said that it was available. And, we are in different states. So I took it. Since then, I have spent a lot of money building a website, and publishing and distributing marketing materials and products bearing my company’s name. Now, all of a sudden, I get this letter? Where does this law firm come off telling me that I am supposed to give up my domain name and transfer it to their client, after all that I have invested?”

The first time I found out that folks like my client (see posting of November 6, 2010) are not the owners of the copyright to the software prepared on their behalf by their software developer, I was pretty bewildered too. I mean, “Come Ooon!” I am going to hire this guy or gal, I am going to pay them good money, I am going to share with them my ideas that I worked so hard to put together, I am going to educate them in my business and I am NOT going to own the software and the copyright that attaches to that software? You have gotta be kidding me! These guys wouldn’t have any work without me, in the first place! And they are going to own my software? This is just too much!

It all started the previous week, when my client suddenly realized that he could not go to a trade show without first protecting his intellectual property. The prototype had been completed, beta-tested and accepted with great enthusiasm by its three test subjects. All of the errors had been worked out. The trade show booth had been purchased. The marketing materials looked amazing and the final travel itinerary was being drawn up. Then it hit him. In the midst of negotiating budgets, raising funds, building prototypes, preparing marketing materials, and hiring consultants and software engineers he had made one major oversight. He had overlooked protecting all of the IP that the creation of the prototype had generated.

ISP alleges that this action arises from Honeywell’s participation, together with a select group of distributors, in a conspiracy to: [a] allocate customers among those distributors and engage in a collusively rigged contract bidding system, to substantially reduce price competition among the distributors; and [b] to terminate ISP’s distributorship in order to eliminate ISP’s competitive, non-inflated price bidding.

On July 13, 2009, we announced another decision in another client’s favor concerning a case, Kasloff Co. Dvision of Business Strategies Inc. v. Brookhaven Instruments Corporation Index No. 07-38937 (SDNY 2007); a dispute arising out of an alleged breach of contract.

On, Wednesday, November 12, 2008, IntellectuLaw reported on the lawsuit Jimlar Corporation and Rhodes Ltd. V. Adidas AG and Adidas America Inc. in which ADIDAS demanded that Bass Pro Shops “immediately cease and desist from all sales of its CASCADE [brand] sneakers” because Bass Pro Shops’ CASCADE sneakers bear three parallel stripes in a manner likely to be confused with the famous Adidas Three-Stripe Mark, thereby constituting trademark infringement. However, they aren’t the only ones who are getting pushed around.

Between Jimlar Corporation and Rhodes Ltd’s Action for Declaratory Judgment against Adidas over Adidas’ Three-Stripe Trademark or Logo, and Loeffler Randall’s suit against Steven Madden, Inc. for trade dress infringement over Loeffler Randall’s Delia flats, sneakers and flats will be on the minds of some of the judiciary at the Federal District Court of the Southern District of New York, in Foley Square, New York City. www.nysd.uscourts.gov

At INTELLECTULAW™, with offices in Mt. Sinai, New York, we practice business and commercial litigation very differently from other business and commercial litigation firms. Since we practice business and commercial litigation differently, we are not necessarily good for everyone. However, for those clients we are good for, they experience a significantly positive impact on their [...]