Intellectual Property

There are artists who say that there are no truly original ideas, that every work of art is influenced by something else, consciously or not. But the author of a book on the Balkan conflict of the 1990s isn't taking that viewpoint with his copyright infringement...

The trademark of catch phrases can be a tricky practice. A unique slogan such as Apple's "there's an app for that" is easily recognizable from the company's popular iPhone ad campaign, even when it's cited out of context. But in other cases, the shorter and more...

Syl Johnson has sued Jay-Z and Kanye West for copyright infringement over their new track, "The Joy," which he says contains a sample from his 1967 song, "Different Strokes," that they did not seek permission to use. The song with the sample appears on the hip hop...

Miles Davis was a legendary jazz trumpeter and band leader and the current owners of his trademarks do not want to see his legacy diluted. His trademark owners, which include two of his children and a nephew, sued a jazz club recently, saying...

Hells Angels might be a household term, but that doesn't mean it's a generic part of the vocabulary. The Hells Angels want people to know that the term is a trademark and a brand, and they will sue anyone who thinks they can violate their intellectual property...

As reported in a previous post, a real-life maid filed a lawsuit against the author of "The Help" that accused the author of stealing the maid's likeness for her best-selling novel, which has recently been made into a popular movie. Ablene Cooper contended in her...

"It's Friday, Friday/Gotta get down on Friday/Everybody's lookin' forward to the weekend." So sang Rebecca Black in her viral love it/hate it music video. Now, Rebecca Black and her mother, Georgina Marquez Kelly, have filed a lawsuit against Ark Music Factory,...

In another case of allegedly misappropriated identity, a real-life maid has sued the author of the novel, "The Help," claiming that the author used her likeness and name for one of the two main characters in the book without her permission. Ablene Cooper works for...