Apple wins trademark case over ‘iBooks’
Apple has won one of its many lawsuits involving “i” products — a federal judge threw out a case in which a New York publisher claimed that it, not Apple, has the rights to use “iBooks.” Read more at GigaOM »
Grumpy Cat shows claws, vows to sue infringers
photo: Grumpy Cat Incorporated
Grumpy Cat is the latest internet meme whose fame is growing by the day. The feline’s fame is valuable and her owners and lawyers have filed trademarks to protect it. Read more »
Authors and publishers objects to Amazon’s “.book” and “.read” names; future process unclear
photo: Amazon
A flood of new website addresses with endings like “.book” and “.movie” are set to arrive in coming months. Companies like Amazon and Google are set to control the names but the terms under which they will do so are still undefined. Read more »
Feds scoop up 132 websites in annual Cyber Monday ritual
photo: Paul Matthew Photography
The Monday after Thanksgiving means online discounts for many people. To the federal government, it is a day to parade captured websites. Read more at GigaOM »
Village Voice sues Yelp for using “Best of”
The publisher of one-time counter-culture icon The Village Voice is expanding its legal campaign to own the phrase “best of.” Popular user review site Yelp is its latest target. Read more »
Pinterest fights Chinese cyber-squatter
photo: Shutterstock / Chiyacat
Cyber-squatting has been around for years but one Chinese man has especially aggressive in grabbing the names of popular US start-ups like Square and Etsy. More troubling for the companies, the man is also filing for trademarks. Read more at GigaOM »
Aereo’s Barry Diller sues to squash copycat BarryDriller
photo: Aereo
Aereo, a technology that uses tiny antennas to let people watch TV on the go, has already generated a flurry of lawsuits. Now the man behind Aereo is suing a copycat service for using his name. The disputes highlight disruptions to the traditional TV industry. Read more »
Apple digs in to protect ‘app store’ name
Apple is doubling down on efforts to protect the term “app store” at a time when it feels increasingly threatened by Amazon’s push into the app and mobile market. Amazon’s Appstore for Android is much smaller than Apple’s App Store but it brings in good revenue. Read more »
Should Google and Amazon be allowed to control domains?
photo: Flickr user Fabio Venni
Google and Amazon have applied for dozens of new top-level domains — including .blog and .book, as well as .search and .cloud — and many of these will be for the exclusive use of the two companies, which critics say is bad for the web. Read more at GigaOM »
Man sues to have ‘Google’ declared a generic word
Arizona man David Elliott wants a court to declare that “google” is a word that means “search on the internet” and to cancel Google’s trademarks for the term. Read more »
Facebook loses trademark fight against adult social network
A federal judge has refused to order a Norwegian website that describes itself as “the number one socializing porn and sex network” to turn over its name to Facebook. Read more »
JibJab sues White Castle over social media campaign
photo: JibJab site
Humor site JibJab doesn’t think White Castle’s animation is very funny, and has filed a lawsuit to stop the fast food chain from using its name to promote “chicken rings” on Facebook. Read more »
Burberry faces lawsuit for using Bogart image on Facebook timeline
photo: Danomyte
Luxury brand Burberry is in legal trouble for using an iconic image from the film Casablanca in a social media campaign to promote its trenchcoats. Read more »
Match.com sues ‘Adult dating’ site XXXmatch
A popular singles site that promises “Love is complicated, Match.com is simple” is taking issue with a website that claims “Love is complicated, sex is simple.” Read more »
Update: Hasbro Can't Stop Sale Of 'Transformer Prime' Tablets
photo: Shutterstock / anyunov
(Updated to include Hasbro response)
In a court ruling that reads at times like a pop culture or consumer gadget review, a federal judge ga… Read more »
New York Promised At Least $3.6 Million For Sale Of .NYC Domain Names
photo: The Simpsons
New York City will receive millions from domain name sales at no risk to tax-payers, according to a spokesperson for NYC Digital. Read more »
Update: Why New Yorkers Should Be Wary About .NYC Websites
photo: Victoria Peckham
(This post has been updated with New York City’s response)
Residents of the Big Apple (NSDQ: AAPL) learned this week that their city could… Read more »
Ron Paul Fails Again To Identify YouTube, Twitter Impostors
A judge has once again rebuffed Republican Presidential candidate Ron Paul’s efforts to unmask the people who used his name to launch racist… Read more »
Hulu Joins Trademark Battle Against Dish's 'TV Everywhere' Claim
Hulu has joined Time Warner (NYSE: TWX) Inc. and the nation’s five biggest cable service providers in a fight to stop Dish Network (NSDQ: DI… Read more »
Judges Say No To Crack, Refuse 'Crackberry' Trademark
Embattled BlackBerry maker Research In Motion got a rare bit of good news this week after judges refused to let a gadget site trademark the… Read more »
Justin Bieber Sued By App Maker ‘Joustin Beaver’
photo: Getty Images / Larry Busacca
What’s with Biebs and these lawsuits? Last year, a deranged woman took him to court, claiming she was his baby-moma. Now, the teenage celeb… Read more »
Paramount Sues Puzo Estate Over ‘Godfather’ Sequels
The studio behind the famous Godfather trilogy is asking a court to make the franchise’s literary heirs an offer they can’t refuse. Read more »
More Stores In China Being Told To Remove iPads In Apple Trademark Dispute
photo: Getty Images / Mario Tama
Apple (NSDQ: AAPL) is no stranger to legal disputes around the globe over its mobile products, but it’s running into a problem that has noth… Read more »
Village Voice To Stop Suing Over ‘Best Of’ Lists
photo: Flickr / Joey Parsons
The Village Voice is giving up on a scheme to force rivals to pay for permission to use the phrase “best of.” Read more »
Five Ways Twitter Is Changing Media Law
photo: Shutterstock Composition: Bird via basel101658 / Gavel via Alexander A. Sobolev
Why does Twitter get involved in so many interesting lawsuits? In its short life, the company has kicked up legal hornet nests involving eve… Read more »
Judge: Ron Paul Can’t Force Twitter, YouTube To Identify ‘Impostors’
Ron Paul’s campaign suffered a setback this week in its effort to identify who uploaded videos that appear to show the presidential candidat… Read more »
Facebook And Timelines.com Propose 2013 Trial, Hint At Settlement
photo: Facebook
Facebook remains locked in a legal dispute with a Chicago website over who owns the word “timeline,” the name used by the social network to… Read more »
Ron Paul Campaign Sues To Stop Unauthorized Web Videos
In an unusual move, the campaign team for Republican Presidential candidate Ron Paul has filed a trademark and defamation lawsuit against fo… Read more »
Use of Brands In Video Games Is Free Speech — EA Lawsuit
photo: psd
In a new lawsuit, Electronic Arts (NSDQ: ERTS) says free speech rights permit it to use brand name helicopters in the hit game Battlefield 3… Read more »
Steve Jobs Doll Legal In Most States, Not Indiana
photo: AP Images
Apple’s lawyers have a fearsome reputation for defending the company’s intellectual property. But it sure looks like they’re bluffing in the… Read more »
Rupert Murdoch's Wife Won't Get Twitter Handle Back Any Time Soon
photo: Getty Images / Stephen Lovekin
Wendi Deng, the wife of news baron Rupert Murdoch, must be fuming after an impostor fooled everyone — including Murdoch’s own company — wi… Read more »
Louis Vuitton Sues Warner Bros For Using Fake Bag In Hangover II
photo: Court Documents
A studio that has been a champion of stopping piracy is now facing awkward accusations that it showed counterfeit luggage in a hit movie. Read more »
Wimp Sues Zombie In New Test Of Parody Limits
photo: AMC
The owner of the popular Wimpy Kid franchise is suing an upstart publisher for releasing an illustrated “diary” featuring a haggard, blood-s… Read more »
Fine, NYT: HuffPo To Change Parentlode Name, Which They Never Liked Anyway
photo: Huffington Post
Claiming it was a name “that, frankly, we never really loved,” Lisa Belkin–the former editor of New York Times (NYSE: NYT) parenting blog “… Read more »
Toy Maker Sues Android Tablet Maker Over 'Transformer' Tablet
photo: Shutterstock / anyunov
Hasbro is suing California computer maker Asus, saying the company’s new Transformer Prime tablet violates trademarks related to popular chi… Read more »
New Internet Names Feared, Loathed By All
photo: Shutterstock / James Blinn
In an unusual alliance, major corporations are walking in lockstep with the federal government and international NGO’s to stop a reviled int… Read more »
Did HuffPo Just Get 'Sex-Squatted'?
Well, that was predictable. The chance to buy a “.xxx” domain is now open to the public and already someone appears to have used the opportu… Read more »
Facebook Countersues Timelines.com
photo: Facebook
On the same day that Facebook announced the launch of Timeline in New Zealand, the company took another decisive step in rolling out its dig… Read more »
John Wiley Expands Lawsuit Against File-Sharing 'Dummies'
Two weeks ago, publisher John Wiley made headlines by suing 27 internet users who were allegedly swapping editions of the popular “For Dummi… Read more »
Facebook Court Hearing With Timelines.com Delayed
photo: Facebook
The likelihood of Facebook’s new Timeline feature going live before the end of the year are looking increasingly slim. Read more »
