As we have discussed, parodies are often safe from trademark infringement claims. The dangers of a person confusing an actual product with a parody are a lot less than someone selling imitations that closely resemble the actual product. Two internet sites – the parody site Lamebook.com and the ubiquitous Facebook.com – recently squared off over
Earlier in 2011, a federal judge in the state of Washington declared the state’s publicity rights law in violation of the federal constitution. The case originated from merchandise pertaining to 60s rock icon Jimi Hendrix. Hendrix’s estate sued a retailer that sold t-shirts, posters and other merchandise relating to Hendrix. His estate sued on trademark infringement grounds,
Cybersquatting is a new type of trademark infringement that came about with the rise of internet technologies in the past two decades. Whereas as squatting typically refers to someone living in a building that he or she does not own, cybersquatting refers to people or businesses that register an internet domain name and then offer to sell
I just obtained a judgment for my client in the amount of over $1.2 million. I was representing a building contractor who hired a subcontractor on a project. The subcontractor negligently performed his contract. We sued and obtained a judgment as stated above.
Representing celebrity clients, I sued an individual and his corporation for using my clients’ name and likeness in a commercial activity without their consent. The individual defendant hired a very bad lawyer who concealed from me during discovery that his client had sold the company before I named him as a defendant. Had I known
The courts often require the parties to try to settle their lawsuits by submitting the matter to a neutral for a non-binding mediation. One of the difficulties is getting everyone to agree on a mediator. Mediation is only useful if both sides have investigated their respective cases, had sufficient discovery so they know all the issues and evidence both
It is common to retain expert witnesses in civil and business litigation. Expert witnesses are people who possess a special knowledge in a particular area that is not know, or beyond the common experience of a lay person. I have a case where there is an issue of emotional distress damages due to post traumatic stress. To
California has a law that protects a celebrity’s right to control their publicity. If someone uses another persons name, image, or likeness without their consent, the wrongdoer is liable for actual damages. This usually happens when someone wants to exploit a celebrity’s status to promote their own economic objectives. Under Civil Code §3344 any person who uses another persons
There are three different standards of appellate review. The easiest burden for an appellant is the independant or de novo review. That is when the Court of Appeal reviews the case in full as if it were being presented for the first time. This standard of review applies when the contract interpretation is the issue
As a Los Angeles based business litigation attorney representing small to medium sized companies, I often need to address lawsuits brought by former employees. In these lawsuits the fired employee usually claims they were unfairly fired because they did nothing wrong or their boss had it out for them. The issue is often whether the
