Ask the IP Attorney: What is SOPA?

My question to Alex:  What is all of this talk about SOPA and what does it have to do with the blogging world?

Answer:  You are referring to SOPA and PROIP– a House and a Senate bill, respectively – that attempted to legislate enforcement measures against online copyright infringement and counterfeiting websites, many of which emanate from abroad.  This article explains all the issues about it and even gives a good example based upon a recent FBI arrest.  

I think all the uproar and protest was stupid because the bills are necessary but Google used their resources and allied with some other internet content website companies (like Wikipedia) to campaign against the bills because they believe the bills were too ambiguous and overreaching.  Google et. al. claimed that the bills would require censoring internet content or limiting what can go in their search results which therefore violated free speech rights.  But I don’t think the bills aimed to do that and would not target content alone; they only targeted copyrighted content that should not be freely available. 

Obviously, as you saw, Google was pretty effective in their campaign to protest the bills.  I didn’t read the bills and don’t know the language so I supposed they could have been overbroad and apparently a number of the sponsoring lawmakers have retreated and are willing to tweak the bills.  But the copyright holding content community, i.e. record and entertainment companies, and I’m sure many other IP owners like large manufacturers are going to continue to lobby for this very necessary enforcement legislation and I’m sure something will be enacted.  I don’t understand why Google made such a fuss of it because they too create content and own a lot of IP that this law should protect.

I know the internet culture has developed much like any pioneered new territory – i.e. the “Wild West,” outer space, imperialism and colonialism, etc. – with no respect for boundaries and property rights of others but eventually legislation and laws are going to be necessary to allow people to maintain and enforce their legal property rights. I think the internet is finally developing to a point where it is progressing from an undeveloped anarchy to a more structured and governed society. At least that is the case within the U.S. since we obviously can’t control the rest of the world.     

• Anti-Piracy Bill Threatens Internet, Needs Work: GOP Sens.
• SOPA Opponents Mobilize Ahead Of House Markup

Alex Butterman is a trademark attorney with Staas & Halsey LLP (http://www.staasandhalsey.com), a Washington, D.C. IP boutique law firm, and a former trademark examining attorney at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. Alex has been assisting U.S. and foreign businesses of all sizes in a wide variety of industries in intellectual property matters since 1995. Alex is admitted to the bars of Washington, D.C., New York and New Jersey and also is an active member of the International Trademark Association. Alex can be contacted at work directly by e-mailing him at abutterman@s-n-h.com.
The opinions expressed are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of Adrienne, his firm, its clients or Adventures in DIY. This article is for general information purposes and is not intended to be and should not be taken as legal advice.

Blogging and Trademarks--UPDATE

More news about the trademark infringement lawsuit filed by the New York Times against The Huffington Post which I blogged about here.  

I recently learned that the parties have reached a settlement. You may recall that Lisa Belkin had been writing the “Motherlode” parenting blog for the New York Times and subsequently wanted to continue some form of that blog after moving to the Huffington Post where she entitled her blog, “Parentlode.” You may also recall my prediction that “this case will settle in the near future.”

According to my source, the terms of the settlement have not been disclosed but the U.S. District Court judge signed off on an order dismissing the case (subject to being reopened in 45 days if the settlement is not consummated). However, Lisa Belkin herself suggests the terms of the settlement in her December 22 blogpost for the Huffington Post which is entitled:
Bye Bye, "Parentlode"! Announcing My To-Be-Named-By-You Blog Contest

Apparently, Lisa Belkin and the Huffington Post are throwing in the towel, as so many subsequent or “subordinate” trademark users/applicants often do, and are giving up trying to hold onto the mark. As Lisa Belkin explains in her Dec. 22, 2011 post: 

Things can get petty and prickly in the sandbox. Sometimes there's that kid who throws the sand around, and won't share toys, and picks fights instead of playing nicely.  What is a parent to do?


Well, you can fight back, but the end result will probably just be more thrown sand. Or you can take your child by the hand, smile benignly at the bully, then go off to the ice cream shop and have a delightful afternoon….


…You might have heard that The New York Times has been a little cranky about this blog lately. They seem to think I took their toy -- or something they believe sounds a little like one of their toys -- when I left the Times and moved to The Huffington Post two months ago.


… Still, we had a choice to make. We could keep fighting the suit, over a name that, frankly, we never really loved…. But that would involve my hanging around town next week with a bunch of lawyers, preparing for a deposition of me demanded by the Times, rather than attending my mother's wedding in Arizona. Mom is not keen on that idea.

It would also involve spending an indefensible amount of money, and enriching the lawyers (who are very nice; I've had a chance to get to know many of them lately, but still...) at the expense of better content.

… All we need now is a new name… (emphasis added).

This reaction to the infringement claim that Lisa Belkin describes illustrates at least three common responses I often see from entities accused of trademark infringement which are listed below (and can include my clients and my adversaries).


1. Submissions to the press of the accused party’s arguments, the merits of their defense, a public relations appeal on their behalf and a public relations attack against their accuser. I reproduced some of Lisa Belkin’s self-advocacy from her Dec. 22, 2011 post above but omitted additional text for the sake of brevity. In this case, Huffington Post had it easy because they are a member of the press; their story did not need to be pitched to anyone.


2. The accused party ultimately concludes that the high cost to defend their right to use the mark is not worth the ability to continue adopting or using the mark, regardless of the merits of their arguments and their available evidence. Unless the accused trademark holder is a Coca-Cola® with unlimited resources, the accused has invested a significant amount of funds and consumer goodwill into the mark or the accused is the producer of a hot new product which requires the mark to retain its value, this is generally the most sensible conclusion.


3. The mandatory participation in “discovery,” i.e. being deposed or required to submit written answers to written questions and documentary evidence, promptly deters the accused from wanting to continue defending their trademark adoption. Lisa Belkin expressed this when she stated that she was not prepared to miss her mom’s wedding to be deposed. Accordingly, initiating discovery after filing a trademark infringement proceeding is a highly effect strategy for many trademark infringement plaintiffs.


The moral of the story is to always consult a trademark lawyer when naming a product or service to be offered in U.S. Commerce and to listen to them.




Alex Butterman is a trademark attorney with Staas & Halsey LLP (http://www.staasandhalsey.com), a Washington, D.C. IP boutique law firm, and a former trademark examining attorney at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. Alex has been assisting U.S. and foreign businesses of all sizes in a wide variety of industries in intellectual property matters since 1995. Alex is admitted to the bars of Washington, D.C., New York and New Jersey and also is an active member of the International Trademark Association. Alex can be contacted at work directly by e-mailing him at abutterman@s-n-h.com.
The opinions expressed are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of Adrienne, his firm, its clients or Adventures in DIY. This article is for general information purposes and is not intended to be and should not be taken as legal advice.

Dining Room Niche Desk--Finished!

Sooooo, we built a shelf in our dining room niche which will serve as a desk.  We used plywood because I wanted to stain it, but after it was up Alex convinced me that it would look better painted white to blend in with the moulding...and I agreed. 

So we sanded, primed, sanded, and painted.

Here is a close up shot of the moulding we had on the edge.

It was too skinny, I didn't like it.  So I took a trip to HD and found some thicker plain moulding and switched it out.

More wood putty, sanding, priming, sanding, painting and sealer.  And even though its not perfect.  It is DONE!

I let the sealer dry for a few days before putting anything on the desk.

Next up, I want to add some sconces, or maybe just one sconce for lighting.  I want to keep this area looking like more of a dining room, rather than an office.

Thanks for stopping by!

xoxoxo ----Adrienne

Linking: Savvy Southern Style