The Affinity Law Group APC

If you have any trademark registrations or other trademark filings that are pending, you will want to file the registration application or other filing by the end of 2020 since the Trademark Office filing fees are increasing significantly effective January 2, 2021. Some of the fee increases will be the following (from the Trademark Office website): Application and application-related fees... https://affinitylaw.wordpress.com//advisory-register-your/

A recently filed lawsuit in federal court in New Mexico raises the question of whether the new Netflix film "Enola Holmes," a film about Sherlock Holmes' sister, infringes the copyright in the Sherlock Holmes character and stories owned by the Arthur Conan Doyle Estate. As reported in a June 24, 2020 article in the Hollywood Reporter (see the Conan Doyle Estate has sued Netflix, Legendary Pictures, Penguin Random House and others, including author Nancy Springer, whose book series forms the basis of the new movie, claiming that the Enola Holmes character and story infringe the copyright in Arthur Conan Doyle's famous character and stories. [ 370 more words ] https://affinitylaw.wordpress.com//does-the-new-netflix-m/

On June 30, 2020, the United States Supreme Court issued its long-awaited decision in United States Patent and Trademark Office v. Booking.com, B.V., ("Booking.com") which addressed the issue of whether a generic word coupled with a top-level domain name such as ".com" could qualify for trademark protection. The Booking.com decision can be found here: It had long been the position of the United States Patent and Trademark Office (PTO) that a generic term like "booking" remained generic and thus not eligible for trademark protection even if combined with a top-level domain name. [ 233 more words ] https://affinitylaw.wordpress.com//united-states-supreme-/

Many photographers and others involved in the visual arts often post their works on Instagram and other social media sites as a way to advertise and promote themselves, showcase their works, and try to license or sell the posted works. In most cases, the posted works are protected by copyright in favor of the author. Among the rights granted to to the author of a copyrighted work are the exclusive right to control the reproduction and copying of the work, the exclusive right to control the distribution of the work (including to license the work), and the exclusive right to control the display of the copyrighted work. [ 931 more words ] https://affinitylaw.wordpress.com//photographers-and-visu/

A question often asked is whether businesses and individuals can avoid contract performance because of the COVID-19 pandemic? This question permeates all aspects of the business world, from office leases to product purchase and sale contracts to loan contracts and myriad other contractual arrangements. Here are two recent white papers by some very esteemed lawyers that discuss the topic in detail: Please call us if you have any questions. https://affinitylaw.wordpress.com//does-the-covid-19-pand/