Apple has met with overwhelming success in their release of the popular iTunes client for x86 architecture, with approximately one million songs (at USD$1 a pop) being downloaded from their online music store in just three days, and marking a new sales record for a music distribution model that was hitherto viewed with considerable scepticism.  Read more »

The Federal Court of Australia last week handed down judgment in Crazy Ron’s Communications Pty Ltd v Mobileworld Communications Pty Ltd, which was a dispute between two rhyming telephone vendors of questionable mental state: Crazy John’s and Crazy Ron’s. Crazy John’s claimed infringement of two trademarks (one registered in 1995, the other in 1999), the former of which concerned a ‘maniacal looking man sitting on a globe of the world holding a mobile telephone’:  Read more »

A French company has successfully sued Google for trademark infringement constituted by the display of keyword advertisements. There can be little doubt that this issue will continue to be played out across the various jurisdictions for the next several years. The court  Read more »

A French court on Friday ruled against Google in a trademark infringement case brought by Louis Vuitton Malletier, in the latest legal setback to the search giant overseas.  Read more »

A Francis Hwang recently attempted to resell his ‘Special Edition U2’ Apple iPod on eBay preloaded with several songs from Negativland, a band famous for being sued by U2’s publisher ‘for allegedly using an unlicensed sample of “I still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For”.’ Hwang marketed his sale as the ‘Special Edition U2  Read more »

The High Court in London has rejected an application for a judicial review of a decision concerning the ownership of the itunes.co.uk domain.

In June, Benjamin Cohen - who registered "itunes.co.uk" in November 2000 some three years before Apple registered the name "itunes.com" - announced he was seeking a Judicial Review of Nominet's ruling in March forcing him to hand over his itunes.co.uk domain to Apple.  Read more »

'A US district court has ruled against Google in a trade mark action over the sale of the terms “Geico” and “Geico Direct” in AdWords, its keyword advertising service. The judge found that there was infringement where the terms were used in the text of sponsored ads.

Car insurance firm GEICO sued both Google and Yahoo! subsidiary Overture in May 2004 over the sale of its registered trade marks as sponsored search terms in the keyword advertising services of both search engines.  Read more »

'Australian companies providing Linux products and services may soon have to pay up to $A5000 a year to licence the operating system name ... if the patents agency IP Australia grants a trademark application it is reviewing.  Read more »

'Linus Torvalds has found himself having to defend recent actions he has taken to protect the Linux trademark. He claims his efforts have been out of concern for IP rights.'

Originally by NewsFactor Network, 2:53 PM

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'Are names like "brick oven" pizza and "community bank" generic? In yet another decision calling into question a well-known trademark, the 9th US Circuit Court of Appeals recently held that there was a genuine issue as to whether "Yellow Cab" was generic, and therefore an unprotectable mark. The case, which was sent back to the trial court, is part of a trend in which companies make large marketing investments, only to run into trademark trouble.'

Originally by Law.com - Tech Law Practice Center, 8:36 PM  Read more »

‘Google and auto insurer GEICO have resolved a high-profile trademark infringement case filed by GEICO against Google over its online advertising practices, the auto insurer said Wednesday.

GEICO, the fourth largest US [automobile] insurer and a unit of investor Warren Buffet’s Berkshire Hathaway, said its suit filed in the US District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia ‘has been resolved to the mutual satisfaction of the parties.’  Read more »

'Linus Torvalds' bid to have the word "Linux" trademarked in Australia has failed, with the local intellectual property regulator sending his lawyer a vitriolic letter deriding efforts to provide evidence the trademark application was legitimate. In the letter, the regulator points out that information from Wikipedia and Google used by the lawyer to support the trademark application is simply not effective in making the case for a trademark to be registered.'

Originally by CowboyNeal at Slashdot: Your Rights Online, 12:25 PM  Read more »

'It may have taken over five years getting there, but at 10am today, the first .eu domains will go on sale - and it's going to be a landrush.'

Apparently, trade mark owners get first dibs on related domain names, which superficially seems sensible. However, it seems doubtful whether subsequent registrants of trade marks will trump good faith users of an existing domain in a down the line ownership dispute. There doesn't seem to be any convincing rationale for this discrepency.  Read more »

According to BBC News, Wal-Mart has applied for a trade mark in respect of the ‘smiley face logo’ popularised by folk music in the 1970s and presently adorning its employees’ uniforms and other promotional material. However, its application has been opposed by a Massachusetts graphic designer, who claims to have invented the iconic symbol back in 1968 — ironically, to cheer up disgruntled employees at an insurance firm.

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'In what may be a case of trademark trolling, Apple has issued warnings to makers of other electronic devices containing the word "pod". Two companies have been asked to remove the word from their products. Why might this be a mean action by Apple? These two companies don't manufacture MP3 players as one would think would cause confusion':  Read more »