Tag Archives: intellectual property

A&E Television Sued For Camo Clothing

Lawsuit dynasty

Calling all Duck Dynasty fans! Everyone who watches the popular TV show is well aware of the famous one-liners made by Si Robertson. A most recent line that A&E decided to capitalize on, has them facing intellectual property lawsuits from a clothing company with a similar product. The most recent “Si saying” that made its way onto several apparel items is, “My favorite color is camo”. According to The Hollywood Reporter, “The plaintiff is a company called Hajn, which has been selling a line of apparel that’s branded “My Favorite Color’s Camo.” The company has a registered trademark and reports gaining national visibility with its mark”.

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Lawsuit Over Evil Stuffed Bear

“Lots-O’-Problems”

“Disney Enterprises has been taken to Texas federal court by a trademark owner who objects to the “Lots-O’-Huggin'” stuffed bear character in Toy Story 3“. Lots-O is a psychologically dysfunctional stuffed animal featured in the movie, and is the principal “villain”. Diece-Lisa Industries is a company located in New Jersey, who created “Lots of Hugs” stuffed toy bears, and have been licensing them since 1995. DLI has trademarks, and a registered patent as well; they also state that Disney was well aware of this patent based on previous contracts with the company. DLI affiliated with Disney for its sale of “Bear in the Big Blue House” huggable stuffed bear product. Read More

New Scoop on Bowl-Shaped Frito Lawsuit

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Dip that chip!

The latest food lawsuit gives new meaning to the phrase “let the chips fall where they may”.  Frito-Lay, the famous American snack distributor, has recently lost a legal battle against a smaller competitor involving their “Scoops!” tortilla chips.  Medallion Foods, a private-label food subsidiary of Ralcorp Holdings, won the jury’s favor over their own brand of snacks that allow you to easily scoop up salsa, guacamole, or dip.  Frito had been seeking $4.5 million worth of damages from the St. Louis company, claiming that their version of the scoop-able chip was simply a rip-off of their famous “Scoops!”.  A U.S. district court in Dallas came to the decision in late winter, surprising many of those who assumed Frito-Lay had the inside track on a settlement. Read more

Like This: Facebook Sued Over Dead Man’s Patent

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No sir, I do not bite by thumb at you, sir

Mark Zuckerberg is no stranger to a lawsuit.  This time, Rembrandt Social Media is claiming that Facebook’s use of a “Like” button infringes upon a patent created in 1998 by a currently deceased Dutch programmer.  The brain behind social media giant Facebook, has time and time again had to defend his creation from a multitude of people who would like their piece of the pie.  The new suit, filed in a Virginia court on behalf Joannes Jozef Everardus van Der Meer, revolves around a failed social media network known as Surfbook, which involved the idea of pressing a “like” button to show approval.  The like button is a central idea powering Facebook that allows users to interact with a simple click instead of actually commenting on a post or picture. Read More

Apple and Amazon Urged to Reach Settlement

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Think outside the box.

Think of this as a teaser for a heavyweight match that will take place in a few months.  A judge has ordered that Apple and Amazon attempt to reach a settlement over use of the word “Appstore” before their big court date in the summer.  Apple, the technology giant, claims that they own rights to the phrase and had already sued the e-commerce site Amazon.com.  A judge had ruled that Apple had no claim to the fictional phrase.  U.S. Magistrate Judge Elizabeth Laporte has urged the two companies to gather this spring in attempts to avoid a later clash over the intellectual property, copyrights, or trademarks.  If no settlement is reached, Apple and Amazon will soon go before a judge in Southern California over using “Appstore”. Read more