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Fin to the Left

Fin to the Left

by | Feb 25, 2015 | Copying, Copyright, Infringement, Intellectual Property

If anyone caught the halftime show at the Super Bowl this year, you may remember the dancing sharks that were a part of Katy Perry’s halftime show.  The sharks were an instant sensation, particularly the left shark who was seen dancing awkwardly behind Ms. Perry.  Now one businessman has tried to capitalize on that.

Fernando Sosa is in the 3D printing business.   Mr. Sosa makes and sells 3D printed sculptures typically of political figures.  After the Super Bowl, Mr. Sosa developed and offered for sale a replica “Left Shark” figure.  Attorneys for Katy Perry quickly fired off a cease and desist letter to Mr. Sosa claiming that the figure infringed Katy Perry’s intellectual property.  In particular, the letter alleged that Mr. Sosa’s selling of the shark figurine violated Ms. Perry’s copyrights in the shark.  Mr. Sosa has agreed to stop selling the shark.

According to CNN, Mr. Sosa remarked “ it looks like dictators and world leaders like Putin and Kim Jong Un or Chris Christie are much easier to deal with,” and “all this lawyer crap is stressful.” 

Take away: before considering copying something in a public domain, think about whether any third party may have rights to the subject matter.  This applies to sharks as well as digital images and content on the internet.  Even though a digitized item can be downloaded, doesn’t mean it should be.  One way to err on the side of caution is to check the ownership of the item.  If a copyright notice accompanies the material that indicates the owner.  Most owners can be contacted and some may grant a license to you to use their image or content (or shark) as you would like.  However, it is the owner’s right to grant and not yours to take.

 Protecting your innovative developments and respecting the intellectual property rights of third parties is critical to any organization.  Having the right person to help you make those decisions is important.  The Law Office of Kathleen Lynch PLLC is designed to help businesses such as yours keep ahead of the game.   The first telephone consultation is free.  Email us at [email protected].

Back to Basics: Patents Part 2

by | Oct 7, 2014 | Infringement, Patent

This is the second in a series of posts on the basics of patents.  The first post discussed the scope of a patent and how to obtain one.  This post will focus on the benefits of a patent and how you can enforce one. 

Now that you have a patent, what can it do for you?  A patent is only as good as your ability to enforce it.   A patent owner has the right to keep others from making, using, selling or offering for sale his/her patented invention.  A patented invention is defined by its claims.  The claims are the last part of the patent document and are numbered.  The claims define the “metes and bounds” of the invention. 

In a dispute, or when a patent is asserted against an alleged infringing party, the claims are interpreted to determine the scope of the invention.  Once the scope of the invention is determined, then that scope is applied to the alleged infringing activity to see if it falls within the scope of the patented claims. 

Patent infringement is a federal offense and may be brought in federal court.  Patent infringement provides for the recovery of both actual and punitive damages.  These may include up to three times the damages if the infringement is found to be willful or intentional.    A patent owner may also seek an injunction to stop existing and future infringing activity.  In some cases costs and attorneys fees are also recoverable.   

Capitalizing on innovative developments is critical to any organization.  Having the right person to help you make those decisions is important.  The Law Office of Kathleen Lynch PLLC is designed to help businesses such as yours keep ahead of the game.   The first telephone consultation is free.  Email us at [email protected].