A federal judge in New York upholds J.D. Salinger’s copyright and issued an injunction to prevent a modified version of “Catcher in the Rye” from being published in the U.S. The New York Times reports the story here. To learn more about the lawsuit click here.
Archive for the ‘Intellectual property controversies’ category
Starwood Hotels Alleges Trade Secret Theft
April 19, 2009Starwood Hotels, owners of the W Hotel brand of boutique hotels, filed a lawsuit against Hilton Hotels and several former Starwood executives hired by Hilton. The lawsuit alleges trade secret infringement. The complaint alleges that Hilton lured key W Hotel executives and that these individuals misappropriated W Hotel trade secrets to help Hilton with the [...]
Liquidators Buy Bankrupt Brands For $175 Million
April 16, 2009The New York Times has a great story on entrepreneurial companies that have purchased bankrupt company brands. Among them: Sharper Image, Linens ’n Things and Bombay.The price for these three trademark rights is estimated at $175 million.
Borrowing Blue
April 9, 2009Smart marketing. That is what comes to mind when I think about what China Glaze has done with the branding behind its For Audrey nail polish. Take a look at the product. Did you notice the clever associations the nail polish company created by relating the product to the blue color associated with an iconic [...]
Will Google Shut Down Copycat Site?
April 3, 2009A student in my Entrepreneurship class recently made me aware of the site: “Let me Google that for you” .com (LMGTFY). As the name of LMGTFY implies, the site shows you how to search Google if you follow the simple steps listed on the site. I showed the website in class, and one student immediately [...]
Knock-Off Awards
March 28, 2009Shame on you. That’s the purpose of Plagarius, a German cereremony that awards the most blatant knock-off artists. The purpose of the awards is to send a message that stealing innovations is not acceptable. Having their innovations knocked off in this manner can be an innovator’s worst nightmare. With some money and determination, they can [...]
Wall St. Bonuses Are Not Trade Secret
March 22, 2009According to The Wall Street Journal, the public may soon know the names of hundreds of top bankers at Merrill Lynch who received hefty bonuses prior to that company’s merger with Bank of America. Merrill Lynch paid out $3.6 billion in bonuses before it was rescued by its merger with Bank of America. Bank of [...]
