Michael Jackson’s Patent – “Method and Means for Creating Anti-Gravity Illusion”

07 Monday Nov 2011

Posted by Kenan Farrell in Intellectual Property, Oregon, Patent

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Michael Jackson

JacksonPatent

Important Oregon Caselaw – Oregon State University Alumni Ass’n, Inc. v. Commissioner

06 Sunday Nov 2011

Posted by Kenan Farrell in Litigation, Oregon

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Ninth Circuit, Oregon State

In Oregon State University Alumni Ass’n, Inc. v. Commissioner, 193 F.3d 1098 (9th Cir. 1999), the Ninth Circuit ruled that funds received from affinity credit cards fell within the royalties exclusion from unrelated business income.

The Tax Court concluded that the bank paid the alumni associations for the use of their property rights, not for their services. The credit cards used pictures, colors, words and seals to show the university affiliations…The Tax Court’s findings, that the alumni associations’ promotional activities pursuant to the agreement were de minimis, were well supported. They were not required to mail anything to their members, and merely approved what the bank mailed out in their name once a year. The alumni associations did one mailing during the years at issue, but the agreement did not require it and the bank paid for it separately from the royalties. The Tax Court found that the few telephone responses to members regarding the credit cards were “de minimis and were done to protect petitioner’s goodwill with its members,” a finding well supported in the record. The facts stipulated to and found show that the bank designed the program, promoted it, and maintained it, with de minimis effort from the schools. What little the schools did pursuant to the agreements was the minimal administrative work necessary to give their mailing lists to the bank, and to prevent the bank from promoting the cards in such a way as to sour the associations’ relations with their alumni.

Nonprofits, if you have an affinity credit card program, have you checked that it meets all requirements to fall within the royalties exclusion from unrelated business income? Failure to comply can have significant tax ramifications.

Oregon Copyright Litigation Update – Danger Ninja Productions v. Estee Lauder

04 Friday Nov 2011

Posted by Kenan Farrell in Copyright, District of Oregon, Intellectual Property, Litigation, Oregon, Portland

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Copyright Infringement, Copyright Misattribution, DMCA Violation, Kurt M. Rylander, Mark E. Beatty, Paul Papak, Photography, Unfair Trade Practices

Danger Ninja Productions et al v. Estee Lauder Companies, Inc. et al

Plaintiff, a Portland-based photographer, alleges that cosmetic giant Estee Lauder used one of his images (DRIPPING BLACK…see below) without authorization on magazine covers and in connection with in-store campaigns.

Can you spot Daniel Hoyt’s image in the MAC ad below?

Court Case Number: 3:11-cv-01321-PK
File Date: Thursday, November 03, 2011
Plaintiff: Danger Ninja Productions, Daniel Hoyt
Plaintiff Counsel: Kurt M. Rylander, Mark E. Beatty of Rylander & Associates PC
Defendant: Estee Lauder Companies, Inc.
Make-Up Art Cosmetics, Inc.
M.A.C. Cosmetics, Inc.
Cause: Copyright Infringement, Copyright Misattribution, DMCA Violation, Unfair Trade Practices
Court: District Court of Oregon
Judge: Magistrate Judge Paul Papak

View this document on Scribd

Related story: Evelyn Lauder dead at 75

Historical Oregon Trademarks

03 Thursday Nov 2011

Posted by Kenan Farrell in Intellectual Property, Oregon, Trademark

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Historical Oregon Trademarks

Love Oregon and trademarks? We do. If so, check out Sold in Oregon: Historical Oregon Trademarks, a great resource from the Oregon Secretary of State featuring historical Oregon trademarks of yesteryear.

Trademarks in the online exhibit reflect products being produced or sold in Oregon during the later part of the nineteenth century and the beginning of the twentieth century. Oregon’s fertile lands, huge forests and abundance of fish influenced the settlement of Oregon from the time of its first human habitation. Some of the earliest products of the land included flour, fruit, salmon, and dairy products.

Other groups of trademarks in the online archives include patent medicines, clothing, liquor, household items, auto supplies and various business establishments. There are over 10,000 cancelled and expired trademark registration certificates, 1864-1971, and 29 volumes of trademark registers, 1864-1965, in the Oregon State Archives. One hundred seventy-four trademarks were selected from these records for the online exhibit.

Link: Sold in Oregon: Historical Oregon Trademarks

Who owns “Keep Portland Weird”?

31 Monday Oct 2011

Posted by Kenan Farrell in Intellectual Property, Oregon, Portland, Trademark

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Keep Portland Weird

Happy Halloween. On this day when guys, gals, ghosts and ghouls get weird around the world, I got curious who owns the popular Portland phrase “Keep Portland Weird.” Turns out it’s Music Millennium on East Burnside in Portland. Per Music Millennium’s website:

Keep Portland Weird is about supporting local business in the Portland Oregon area. We want to support local business because they make Portland stand out from other cities and make it a more unique place to live. They do this by providing consumers a wide range of products that represent the different cultures that make up Portland.

Actually, Music Millennium only owns the mark inside Oregon and in connection with “stickers, buttons and t-shirts.” Music Millennium’s Oregon trademark application (below) was filed in September 2006 and claims a date of first use of October 2002.

Music Millennium tried twice to obtain a federal registration for the KEEP PORTLAND WEIRD mark, but was rejected both times by the USPTO based on a prior trademark registration for KEEP AUSTIN WEIRD. The “Keep _____ Weird” phrase apparently originated in Austin, Texas (from Red Wassenich, who says he made the comment after giving a pledge to an Austin radio station), and the federal registration claims a date of first use of October 1, 2001. Check out the Austin registration and Music Millennium’s federal application attempts below:

At apparent odds with both Music Millennium’s quirky, populist message and it’s assertion of rights over KEEP PORTLAND WEIRD, Portland-based PFW Productions filed its own related trademark application with the following description:

“The mark is a modification of the public domain “KEEP PORTLAND WEIRD!” image. The words “KEEP” and “WEIRD!” are visibly crossed out and replaced with the words “MAKE” and “RELEVANT!” respectively.”

Stay safe out there tonight, folks. Don’t forget to check your candy before eating.

Stories from the Week that Was – 10/23-10/29/11

30 Sunday Oct 2011

Posted by Kenan Farrell in Copyright, Intellectual Property, Privacy

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Stories from the Week that Was – 10/23-10/29/11

How Recruiters Use Social Networks to Screen Candidates

Startup Funding by the Numbers [INFOGRAPHIC]

Piracy and Copyright Challenges in 1841 Mirror Those of Today

The Future Of Music Business Models (And Those Who Are Already There)

Tips for Defending Allegations of Domain Name and Trademark Cybersquatting

Long Island Couple files Trademark Application for Occupy Wall St.

US government requests for Google user data grow 29%

Law School Admissions Officers Are Googling Applicants and Checking Them Out on Facebook

“OH WOW. OH WOW. OH WOW.” – Steve Jobs final words, via A Sister’s Eulogy for Steve Jobs

Senator Wyden Urges Opposition to Protect IP Act

30 Sunday Oct 2011

Posted by Kenan Farrell in Copyright, Federal Initiatives, Intellectual Property, Legislation, Oregon

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PROTECT IP, Ron Wyden

Oregon Senator Ron Wyden continues to be one of the primary figures in the opposition of the widely-reviled PROTECT IP Act, which could drastically change the internet as we know it. The PROTECT IP Act would allow copyright owners – movie studios and other content providers – to shut websites down by court order and cause entire links to the site being wiped clean from the Internet… all by simply accusing a website of infringement. Any website with a hyperlink, such as Twitter, Facebook or a blog, would be subject to liability. More, non-infringing sites could be inadvertently shut down under the proposal. Indeed, the law is so far-reaching that it would force Internet providers like Comcast to block all access to the allegedly illegal site.

Senator Wyden strongly challenges the PROTECT IP Act due to the bill’s infringement of free speech and stifling of innovation.

For more info, see Forbes “Don’t Let Hollywood Break the Internet With the PROTECT IP Act!”

To find out how you can get involved, see the Electronic Frontier Foundation “Take Action Now!” page.

Senator Wyden fights for new patent office in Portland

29 Saturday Oct 2011

Posted by Kenan Farrell in Federal Initiatives, Oregon, Patent, Portland, Trademark

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America, Ron Wyden

Senator Ron Wyden has plans to bring a new patent office to Portland. Wyden met with about 35 local business and public officials this past week to plot how Portland can convince the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office to locate a new satellite office in Portland.

The America Invents Act, passed into law in September, calls for the U.S. patent office to establish three satellite offices around the country. The USPTO has already decided to put one of the new offices in Detroit. Each office is expected to employ between 200 and 500 people.

However, Portland is not the only western city campaigning for one of the new satellite offices. San Francisco and Denver are apparently currently leading the pack based on their strong tech sectors.

“You strip it all down and someone in the West is going to get one of these offices,” Wyden said. “We need to pull out all the stops.”

Check out OregonLive.com for the full story.

Oregon Intellectual Property Blog

Author Archives: Kenan Farrell

Michael Jackson’s Patent – “Method and Means for Creating Anti-Gravity Illusion”

Important Oregon Caselaw – Oregon State University Alumni Ass’n, Inc. v. Commissioner

Oregon Copyright Litigation Update – Danger Ninja Productions v. Estee Lauder

Danger Ninja Productions et al v. Estee Lauder Companies, Inc. et al

Historical Oregon Trademarks

Who owns “Keep Portland Weird”?

Stories from the Week that Was – 10/23-10/29/11

Senator Wyden Urges Opposition to Protect IP Act

Senator Wyden fights for new patent office in Portland