A customer leaves a one-star review after a disappointing dinner: “The service was slow, and the meal was not worth the price.” The restaurant owner dislikes the criticism, but personal judgments like these are usually protected opinions. Now change the review: “The owner steals customers’ credit card numbers.” If that accusation is false, the post…
Receiving a copyright demand letter can feel confusing and unfair, especially when you genuinely tried to use the material properly. You might have paid a freelancer to create your website, selected an image from a page labeled “free,” or relied on photographs supplied for your product listings. Now, even though you believed you had permission,…
You open the letter, and it reads like a lawsuit already happened: legal citations, a strict deadline, and a demand for money or immediate action. But it isn’t one. Despite its serious tone, the letter itself is not a ruling. It is a claim made by one party, and what happens next depends on the…
Posting a photograph while crediting the photographer does not make the use legal. Copying a few seconds of a video does not either, nor does labeling a post “for educational purposes.” Fair use can permit use of copyrighted material without permission, but it is not based on a word count, percentage, or disclaimer. What Are…
You applied to register a trademark, responded to any questions from the examining attorney, and received approval for publication. Then another business filed an opposition. This does not necessarily mean you will lose your trademark rights, but it does prevent the application from moving toward registration until the dispute is resolved. A trademark opposition is…
Receiving a cease-and-desist letter accusing you or your business of trademark infringement can be unsettling. The letter may demand that you stop using a business name, logo, product name, or other mark, sometimes within a matter of days. It may also threaten a lawsuit if you do not comply. Do not panic, but do not…
A new published Eleventh Circuit opinion offers an important clarification for photographers, licensing agencies, and the lawyers who represent them. In Great Bowery Inc. v. Consequence Sound LLC, the court held that a copyright owner’s retention of some rights does not automatically defeat an exclusive license as to other rights, vacated summary judgment for the…
High-profile trademark disputes often generate more noise than legal insight. The opposition brief filed in Flagg v. Taylor Swift is different. It is a serious piece of injunction briefing, and for trademark litigators it is worth reading closely because it shows how to attack a preliminary injunction motion from every direction at once. The case…
A new putative class action filed in the Northern District of California takes aim at Cento Fine Foods, Inc. and its popular “San Marzano” canned tomatoes. The complaint, brought by California consumers Mike Andrich and Natalie Gianne, alleges that Cento misled shoppers by marketing certain canned tomato products as premium, authentically certified San Marzano tomatoes…
Texas’s anti-SLAPP statute, the Texas Citizens Participation Act, was designed to protect people from lawsuits aimed at silencing legitimate speech, petitioning activity, and participation in government. (Much like its corollaries in other states, including Illinois.) It was never intended to immunize threatening or harassing conduct simply because that conduct arose in the shadow of a…
Trademark registrations are valuable business assets, but only if the mark is actually being used in commerce when the law requires it. A new precedential decision from the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board, mailed April 29, 2026, makes clear that announcing an intent to use a mark in the future is not the same as…
Strike 3 Holdings, LLC has continued its aggressive enforcement campaign, filing more than one hundred new copyright infringement lawsuits in federal courts across the country between April 15 and April 17, 2026. The cases, captioned Strike 3 Holdings, LLC v. Doe, name anonymous defendants identified solely by their IP addresses and allege unauthorized reproduction and…
