The heirs of Abbott & Costello sued the producers of the Broadway hit “Hand to God” over the use of the famous “Who’s On First?” routine in the show. The court ruled that the play’s use of the comedy routine was copyright fair use.
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Archives: Entertainment Law
The L.A. Chargers Trademark Filing Doesn’t Mean the Team Is Leaving
January 20, 2016
Last week, the professional football team that still calls San Diego home filed applications to trademark “Los Angeles Chargers.” Don’t panic: This doesn’t necessarily mean that the team is moving to L.A.
Who Owns Guns N’ Roses?
January 19, 2016
With all the talk about Guns N’ Roses’ imminent reunion at Coachella 2016, I thought I’d take a look at the GUNS N’ ROSES trademark situation. As you’ll see, the status remains unclear.
Big First Amendment Trademark News: The Slants Win on Appeal
December 22, 2015
A very important first amendment trademark ruling came down today in the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit (which is a U.S. Federal court) involving the restriction on immoral, scandalous, and disparaging trademarks. Here are two previous blog posts where I discussed the “immoral, scandalous, and disparaging” issue: in 2012 and 2014. The Slants Case Let’s start where today’s court opinion begins: “Section 2(a) of the Lanham Act bars the Patent and Trademark Office (“PTO”) from registering scandalous, immoral, or disparaging marks.” The Lanham Act is the federal law that governs trademarks. You can read the whole court opinion…
