A federal judge has ruled Warner/Chappell Music does not own the copyright to “Happy Birthday”, one of the most famous songs ever created. It would be difficult to find people who have never heard of the popular song. Over the last century, the song has become a widely celebrated custom at birthday parties across the globe. The
A judge has ruled Costco Wholesale is guilty of trademark infringement for selling fake Tiffany & Co diamond engagement rings to customers. Costco had originally claimed Tiffany & Co did not have a trademark for the word “Tiffany”. A federal judge has decided Costco purposefully included the name “Tiffany” on its rings to confuse customers. Tiffany &
Disney has filed a lawsuit against Wilson Cake Imaging over allegations it is creating frostings displaying trademark-protected characters, such as Luke Skywalker and Iron Man. Some of the cake designs have sold on eBay, depicting pictures of Yoda telling people “Have a happy birthday you must”. The Disney cake lawsuit could discourage other cake makers
Harris Faulkner, a six-time Emmy winner and famous Fox News anchor, is suing Hasbro over a toy hamster that shares the same name and likeness. Hasbro is a multinational toy company, responsible for creating famous products such as G.I. Joe and Mr. Potato Head. The product is called the “Harris Faulkner toy hamster”, much to
Gearbox Software has reached a settlement with 3D Realms Entertainment and its parent company, Interceptor Entertainment, in a trademark lawsuit over the intellectual rights to the Duke Nukem video game franchise. Duke Nukem is a machine-gun wielding, alien-killing and bad-mouthed ladies’ man with an affinity for destruction. Several video games in the series have come out over
A battle is heating up between two distilleries who market cinnamon flavored whiskey. Sazerac Co., the maker of Fireball Cinnamon Whisky, is suing Stout Brewing Co. over its cinnamon whiskey, Fire Flask. Fireball Cinnamon Whisky features a red logo with a dancing, fire-breathing demon. Fire Flask also features a red logo, except with a devil
Social media posts can be a helpful tool or destructive force for businesses. In some cases, social media blunders can end up costing millions of dollars. Take for example the recent tweet made by the director of the recent “Fantastic Four” movie, where he strongly criticized Fox, the studio responsible for producing the movie. Director
A hearing has been set in the lawsuit against famous rock band Led Zeppelin over allegations they stole the song “Stairway to Heaven”. The lawsuit alleges Led Zeppelin stole the song from Randy Craig Wolfe, a founding member of the late 1960s instrumental band, Spirit. The founding members of Spirit once claimed Led Zeppelin front
Digital ride-booking service Uber is facing a lawsuit from 19 California cab companies. Most recently, a federal judge in San Francisco allowed the cab companies to pursue parts of the case, dismissing allegations of unfair competition. An attorney representing the cab companies argues they have suffered considerable financial damage due to Uber’s misleading statements about the
During the 1980’s, several tech companies duked it out in court over the first operating systems for personal computers. People alive at the time probably remember Apple’s computers, Lisa and Macintosh, and how they were among the first operating systems utilizing a visual display. Apple had successfully built upon Xerox’s computer, the Xerox Star, developing
