Austin Technology Law Blog : Texas Technology Lawyers & Attorneys for Copyright, Trademarks & Software Licensing in Houston, Dallas & Austin TX

Once upon a time, most schools distributed annuals or pictures, names and some personal information about students so that other students could make connections. Then Mark Zuckerberg hacked into the Harvard computers and obtained private information of students and put that into a Hot or Not knockoff called “Facemash”.
Harvard threatened Zuckerberg with expulsion, charges for breach of security and copyright infringement. Harvard later backed off and the rest is history.
Fast forward to today and the behemoth that has now evolved from Facemash to Facebook is rigorously trying to keep anyone from using either “Face” or “Book” in their name if the entity is remotely associated with social media.
Facebook recently induced a site called Placebook to change its name to TripTrace and has now filed suit against a site called Teachbook, which is not even operable yet but purports to be an online information sharing vehicle for teachers (a large number of whom are prohibited from being on Facebook by school administrators).
Facebook is alleging in the suit against Teachbook that the term “Book” is highly distinctive and that most people associate it with social networking. Facebook throws in a claim of cybersquatting and wants the court to give it the domain name Teachbook. For good measure, they included counts of trademark infringement, unfair competition, and trademark dilution. Teachbook has only a couple of employees. Hello fly, meet cannon.
This indicates that Facebook will be aggressive against any online vehicle containing any variety of “Face” plus something or something plus “Book”.
No word yet on their stance on BookFace (actual trademark application made and abandoned several years before Facebook came around).
 

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South by Southwest Interactive is just around the corner, coming March 11-15, 2011, and now it's time for the selection process to begin. For those of you who aren't familiar with the process check this out to get up to speed. There are three groups that vote on what panels will participate in the 2011 SXSWi: public (30%), SXSWi staff (30%), and advisory board (40%). There is a feeling here at ATLB that it's our duty to assist in crafting this year's event. I mean it's for the public, so why shouldn't we have a loud voice. This bog goes out to several different groups that have interest in a variety of things, so in order to provide a broad range of issues here are a couple that seem relevant to our readers: Bootstrapping, Entrepreneurism and Monetization, Funding, Web Apps, and our personal favorite Licensing, Fair Use and Copyright. Please check out these categories and see if a subject of interest pops up.

Additionally, there are a few individual panels this year that we'd like to suggest:

Apps vs. Mobile Web: Which to reach consumers?

Copyright Criminals

Download Illegally, It's the Right Thing to Do

Social Network Users' Bill of Rights: You Decide

Legal Frontiers In Social Networks, Blogs and Beyond

I.P. Fearlessly: Copyright, Contracts, and Clients

I'm sure there are many more that would do a great job of bring value to next year's event, but these were the ones that caught our eye on first go around. It would be a good idea to get on twitter and find some other good Austin Tech Sources to get a feel for some other good panels.

Enjoy the weekend!

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So now you've chosen your entity, it's been incorporated, you have startup capital and are up and running, you've spent thousands of dollars in creating a logo, branding, and marketing.  Things are going great, and then one day you are hit with a cease and desist letter stating that you are infringing on another company's trademark because the name you are using is confusingly similar to the other company's name.  Now you are not only in danger of being sued, but you've just wasted thousands of dollars and many months of hard work on a name and brand you can't even use.  This is just one illustration of how important it is to assess as early as possible the intellectual property (IP) landscape of your company.  Three questions every new business owner should ask: "What IP does my company have?", "How do I protect that IP?" "Am I in danger of infringing the IP rights of another?"  This post will give a summary of the main types of intellectual property, how to protect IP, and how to avoid infringement.  This is just a summary and is no means comprehensive.  Every new business owner should consult with an attorney about their IP issues.

The four main types of IP: 1)Trademarks 2)Copyrights 3) Patents and 4)Trade Secrets. 

TRADEMARK LAW

Trademarks allow a company to easily distinguish itself in the marketplace in the minds of consumers.  A well known trademark is often one of a company's biggest assets.  Trademark law gives a company the exclusive right to use a distinctive mark used to identify its goods or services.  It allows for a company to develop a brand in the marketplace without fear that another company will cause a "likelihood of confusion" by using a similar mark.  Trademarks do have "common law" protection under federal law and the law of most states; meaning that you do not have to register to have protection.  But registering your distinctive mark at the federal and state level provides a number of benefits.  Registering serves as constructive notice that your mark is in use, it makes it easier to prove your case in court, and it gives you protection in a far greater area.  Prior to registration, the mark should be followed by "TM" for trademarks and "SM" for service marks.

Not all names are available for trademark protection.  The mark must be sufficiently distinctive.  The level of distinctiveness depends on the context it is used.  Generic or common terms are not protectable if they are used in the area they describe.  For example, "Apple" is protectable when used with computers, but would not be protected if the company sold fruit.  Marks can't be overly descriptive either.  For example, "Eye-Care Center" would not be protectable for an optometrist's office.  Suggestive marks have a better chance of obtaining protection, but are not perfect because they could be seen as too generic/descriptive.  For example, "America Online" is suggestive of the services it provides.  The best choice for a protectable mark would be an arbitrary or fanciful term.  (Think "Yahoo!" and "Google")  It should be noted generic or descriptive marks can become protectable through their use. A mark can obtain "secondary meaning" through its extensive and continuous use in commerce to such an extent that it has achieved the required level of distinctiveness. 

Picking a distinctive mark is just half the battle.  You must also ensure that you are not using a mark that infringes another company's rights.  The basic test the courts use when determining if a mark is infringing is "likelihood of confusion" in the minds of consumers.  There are thirteen factors courts consider when determining likelihood of confusion.  (Known as the "DuPont Factors")  You should search extensively for similar marks on the USPTO website  and consult with an attorney before deciding on your mark.

COPYRIGHT LAW

Copyright law protects original works of authorship fixed in a tangible medium of expression.  Obviously, this includes many areas: literary works, musical works, dramatic works, photos, paintings, sculptures, architectural works to name a few.    Business that don't produce these types of works should still consider whether they have copyrightable material.  Marketing materials, training materials, or other works that the business creates during its operations could potentially be copyrightable.

Anytime a business contracts to create something new it should consider the copyright involved.  Just because someone creates something for a business doesn't necessarily mean the business own it.  This is a common issue in "works for hire" cases, and every company should address ownership of the copyright when contracting for works made for hire. 

Similar to trademarks, copyrights can be registered, but they do not have to be.  Copyright protection exists from the moment of creation.  But like trademarks, there are a number of benefits from registration.  It is much easier to prove infringement if the copyright is registered, there are substantial statutory damages as well attorney fees available to the registered copyright holder.  Copyrights are relatively easy to register compared to patents and trademarks, but registration can be deceptive in its simplicity.  Consulting with an attorney is recommended. 

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Recently, one of our clients received an email from Chinese domain registration company stating a

 foreign company was attempting to obtain their domain name. Our client, for purposes of privacy we’ll call them “CustomerName,” is a start-up in the process of obtaining a trademark of their company name. This email, although suspiciously spam-like, created some concern and

 confusion for CustomerName. Was this spam? What rights would they have if a foreign company was to use this domain name? What is my recourse?

First things first, it’s important to determine whether something like this is just a “Nigerian Prince” scam. A quick search turned up an article on the domain registration email our client received. The article, by Happy Living with Hosea, provides a great analysis of the drafting of the email. Hosea pointed out things a Chinese company would have likely done differently if this was a legitimate operation. First, it was evident something peculiar was up based on the grammar and punctuation of the email. I’ll be the first to admit I send out letters with grammatical and punctuation errors on a daily basis. However, this one bereel bad! So I feel “it is our duty to notice you” (a little example) of how this poor drafting is a good indicator of a scam. Additionally, had this been one carelessly drafted email that would be one thing, but after some research, it becomes clear this is not an isolated case (just read the comments to the Hosea article).

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Google's tough luck with the Nexus One continued last week.  After reports of disappointing sales in the smartphone, Google learned that its trademark for Nexus One was denied by the USPTO. The mark was denied because of a "likelihood of confusion" with a previously registered mark. The mark at issue was Nexus owned by Integra Telecom Holdings, Inc., which used the mark to provide telecommunication services in the oil industry.  Google has a right to appeal the decision or seek out an agreement with Integra.

You should conduct a thorough search in your potential name.  Otherwise, you will invest a ton of time and money in a trademark and not even be able to use it. 

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Recently, I read an article by Wells Dunbar in The Austin Chronicle about an iphone app called iTexas titled, Texas Trademark War: UT vs. iTexas . It was a discouraging and hard to believe story about the potential loss of a very useful application that allowed University of Texas students the ability to browse their iphone app and check out cafeteria menus, the balance in their school account, check the directory, find building (harder than you’d think at Texas), set class schedules, etc.

However, the University of Texas wasn’t so pleased with the name iTexas. The University claimed the name, iTexas, would cause confusion among the public on who the actual proprietor of the app was.

Throughout the years, Texas attained several trademarks relating to the University, one of which is the term Texas itself. Although hard to believe, UT owns the mark Texas, but is limited in its use of the term. When establishing a trademark one must 

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