California says no sales tax on certain licensed software… With California’s current budgetary and fiscal issues, the State has attempted to come up with new ways to increase revenue (see my previous blog post on the Amazon sales tax). But doing so through a sales tax on certain software transactions is still a no-no in this State. This rule applies to any transfer of non-tangible intellectual property subject to a patent or copyright. Recent events This past April, a California appellate court ordered the State Board of Equalization (“BOE” – a public agency responsible for tax administration and fee…
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College Logo Showdown: Hawkeye vs. Golden Eagle
August 17, 2011
Iowa says USM’s “Golden Eagle” to similar to their “Hawkeye” In the world of college athletics, a university logo or mascot means almost everything. Especially at a place like the University of Iowa, where there is no professional athletic team and the Iowa Hawkeyes have come to represent not only the school itself, but an entire state. So it’s not surprising that University of Iowa officials were not pleased in 2003, when the University of Southern Mississippi (USM) debuted a Golden Eagle logo that looked eerily similar to the Iowa Hawkeye, a logo that has been in use for over…
A Fake IKEA Store?
August 8, 2011
Wait, this isn’t IKEA? While it’s not unusual to go shopping in China and find things like fake DVDs (for pennies on the dollar), now you can go shopping there and find yourself in an entirely fake store. Chinese companies are now copying global giant brands’ (Nike, Ikea, Apple, etc.) overall retail experience. A recent article described how a store known as 11 Furniture has copied IKEA’s entire store layout and décor, with the same exact color scheme, mock room set ups, cafeteria style restaurant, and similar details. This is especially troublesome for a company like IKEA because the store…
Rockabye Baby!
August 3, 2011
Does Rockabye Baby!, a company that produces and sells “lullaby renditions of baby’s favorite rock bands,” have to seek permission from the bands themselves in order to create and market their products? Rockabye Baby! (the exclamation point is in their name; don’t worry, I’m not that excited about them) sells baby-safe versions of the music of a variety of rock artists, from AC/DC to Zeppelin. My fiancee and I recently gave their “Pixies” CD to the indie-rock loving parents of a newborn. They were excited to receive the CD, and we all enjoyed listening to the mellow instrumental take on…
