11 Thursday Aug 2016
Posted in Intellectual Property, Patent, Tech Developments, Trademark
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On August 12, 2016, the informational web pages currently found at http://www.uspto.gov will be moved to https://www.uspto.gov. The USPTO has decided to finally use HTTPS (Hypertext Transfer Protocol Secure), currently the strongest privacy protection available for public web connections.
Those accessing web pages formerly found at http://www.uspto.gov will automatically be redirected to the pages’ new https location.
09 Thursday May 2013
Posted in Bloggers, Indiana, Intellectual Property, Litigation, Social Media, Tech Developments, Trademark
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Angie's List, Common Law Unfair Competition, Keyword Advertising, Litigation Update, Request for Preliminary and Permanent Injunctive Relief, Sarah Evans Barker, Tim A. Baker, Trade Disparagement, Trademark Dilution, Trademark Infringement, Unfair Competition, Unjust Enrichment
Indiana’s first keyword advertising case is now set for trial. However, don’t hold your breath if you’re waiting for an answer to whether the purchase and use of a competitor’s trademark in keyword advertising is trademark infringement. The Angie’s List/ServiceMagic trial won’t take place for over a year.
On May 6, a Scheduling Order set a bench trial for October 6, 2014 (at 9:30 AM in Room #216, United States Courthouse, 46 E. Ohio Street, Indianapolis, Indiana before Judge Sarah Evans Barker). A settlement conference was held between the parties in February 2013 but no settlement was reached. Based on the importance of this question to the parties involved, I expect this case to go to trial, however long that may take.
In the meantime, you can review the Answer to Complaint and Answer to Counterclaims below. Stay tuned for updates.
DEFENDANT SERVICEMAGIC, INC.’S ANSWER, AFFIRMATIVE DEFENSES AND COUNTERCLAIMS:
ANGIE’S LIST’S ANSWER TO SERVICEMAGIC’S COUNTERCLAIMS:
09 Tuesday Apr 2013
The first of the Indiana download cases has proceeded to a Final Judgment and the damage amount awarded by Judge Jane Magnus-Stinson won’t please the hundreds of other Indiana defendants still facing a default judgment. After he failed to present a defense to the illegal download of “Maryjane’s Second Visit”, a Default Judgment was entered against the Defendant. The damage award, which includes the maximum allowable copyright damages, tallied in at $151,425. No matter your view on pornography or copyright infringement, that’s a pretty steep fine for the digital equivalent of sneaking in the back door of a nudie show.
What do you think of the judgment? Did the Judge apply discretion in awarding the maximum amount? Either way, Judge Magnus-Stinson has now provided the other Indiana download defendants with an upper limit on how much they should spend on a defense.
15 Sunday Jul 2012
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Here are the top stories I followed this week:
Ukrainian Students Develop Gloves That Translate Sign Language Into Speech
Officials: Past 12 months warmest ever for U.S.
Accused of downloading porn, Kentucky woman sues the pornographers
Here comes Skynet: Army drones almost ready to share sky with airlines
That’s Not My Phone, It’s My Tracker
What were your top stories of the week? Leave a comment below.
08 Sunday Jul 2012
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Here are the top stories I followed this week:
Supreme Court to Decide Whether Patent Bullies Can Hit and Run
Defunct copyright troll Righthaven seeks resurrection
Hold Your Flow! Yoga Sequences Not Copyrightable
Drones decimating Taliban in Pakistan
U.S. drone ‘hijackings’ raise security concerns
Charles Carreon drops lawsuit against @TheOatmeal’s Matthew Inman
Facebook Users Hijack Walmart Campaign to Exile Pitbull to Remote Island
Yahoo and Facebook settle patent lawsuit with strategic deal
“Man is a slow, sloppy and brilliant thinker; the machine is fast, accurate and stupid.” ~William M. Kelly
01 Sunday Jul 2012
Here are the top stories I followed this week:
Indiana Court Upholds Social Media Ban for Sex Offenders
USPTO seeks to intervene in publisher’s copyright infringement suit against law firm
FTC v. Myspace Part II – The Takeaways
U.S. Supreme Court to hear Nike trademark case
“As far as I’m concerned, progress peaked with frozen pizza.” -Die Hard 2, spoken by the character John McClane
24 Sunday Jun 2012
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A week spent getting caught up from vacation. I had a great time giving a seminar at the office on Tuesday, Trademark and Brand Protection for Communicators. Look out for more of those in the future. It’s also about time to start preparing for Art & Museum Law, so expect more art world news in these posts in the upcoming months. Here are the top stories I followed this week:
Google reports ‘alarming’ rise in government censorship requests
Why brands are leaning towards minimalism
More Download Cases filed in Indiana
Washington’s 5 Worst Arguments for Keeping Secrets From You
U.S. rejects requests for documents regarding targeted killings with drones
Supreme Court cops out, again, on “fleeting expletives”
Louisiana Sex Offenders Must List Status on Social Media Profile
“One machine can do the work of fifty ordinary men. No machine can do the work of one extraordinary man.” -Elbert Hubbard, The Roycroft Dictionary and Book of Epigrams, 1923
17 Sunday Jun 2012
I spent this week in Philadelphia, the City of Brotherly Love. It was my first visit and I have to say the place is top-rate. Some of the best museums you can imagine and the C-SPAN junkie in me was absolutely thrilled to walk inside Congress Hall, location of the first U.S. House and Senate from 1790-1800. But just because I’m out sightseeing doesn’t mean the news stops. Here are the top stories I followed this week:
Indiana finally has its own keyword advertising case
$176 million unmanned drone crashes in Maryland
Twitter Takes a New Approach to Avoid Patent Litigation
The NLRB’s Dos And Don’ts For Employer Social Media Policies
US elections 2012: top 50 Twitter accounts to follow
Downloaders take heed, Indiana’s first BitTorrent download case – CP Productions v. John Doe
These 6 Corporations Control 90% Of The Media In America
Comcast: Don’t “Shake Down” Our Customers
Got another big story from this week that I missed? Leave a comment below.
“He snatched the lightning from the sky and the sceptre from tyrants” – Anne-Robert-Jacques Turgot, speaking of Benjamin Franklin
10 Sunday Jun 2012
New reasons to protect trademarks through registration
Tech-Savvy Seniors: Half of U.S. Adults Over 65 Are Online
Purdue Professor Claims Free Speech Rights Violated Over Facebook Post
Crypto breakthrough shows Flame was designed by world-class scientists
Got another big story from this week that should make the list? Leave a comment below.
“I am sorry to say that there is too much point to the wisecrack that life is extinct on other planets because their scientists were more advanced than ours.” -John F. Kennedy
Twitter’s first commercial:
07 Thursday Jun 2012
Tags
Angie's List, Common Law Unfair Competition, Keyword Advertising, Litigation Update, Request for Preliminary and Permanent Injunctive Relief, Sarah Evans Barker, Tim A. Baker, Trade Disparagement, Trademark Dilution, Trademark Infringement, Unfair Competition, Unjust Enrichment
Indiana finally has its own keyword advertising case!
Local internet powerhouse Angie’s List accuses ServiceMagic of using the “Angie’s List” trademark as a keyword in some of its Google AdWords sponsored link advertisements. While several courts around the country have ruled on this issue, in Indiana it is still undetermined whether the purchase and use of a competitor’s trademark in keyword advertising is trademark infringement.
For those unfamiliar with keyword advertising, see the image below. ServiceMagic pays Google to appear in the “Ads related to” box at the top of the search results for the term “Angie’s List,” directly below Angie’s List’s official site. Big companies hate this practice and small competitors love it. Google really loves it, because advertising is where Google gets a big chunk of their revenue. We’ll soon find out what the Southern District of Indiana, via Judge Sarah Evans Barker, thinks about it.
This is no David and Goliath story either. ServiceMagic’s parent company IAC owns many major web products, including Ask.com, Match.com and Vimeo.
Stay tuned for updates as the case proceeds.
Court Case Number: 1:12-cv-00755-SEB-TAB
File Date: Friday, June 01, 2012
Plaintiff: Angie’s List Inc.
Plaintiff Counsel: George A. Gasper, Michael A. Wukmer, Bradley M. Stohry of Ice Miller LLP
Defendant: ServiceMagic Inc.
Cause: Trademark Infringement, Unfair Competition, Trade Disparagement, Trademark Dilution, Common Law Unfair Competition, Unjust Enrichment, Request for Preliminary and Permanent Injunctive Relief
Court: Southern District of Indiana
Judge: Judge Sarah Evans Barker
Referred To: Magistrate Judge Tim A. Baker
