Posts by ADLI Law Group
Copyright Protection for Public Performances of Pre-1972 Music
A 2021 decision by the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has renewed focus on the scope and extent of copyright protection for public performances of pre-1972 sound recordings. The issue decided by the three-judge panel for the Ninth Circuit was whether California state copyright law protects rights to public performances of music created before…
Read MoreThe Subject Was Patent Eligibility
Section 101 of the patent act sets the foundational requirements an invention must meet to be eligible for patent protection. A recent en banc decision of the federal Circuit Court of Appeals highlights the deadlock, division, and confusion over the proper standard and correct application of the standard for subject matter eligibility under 35 USC…
Read MoreUncertain fate of AB 51 and PAGA arbitration prohibition
Judge William A. Fletcher, one of the judges in the original 2-1 panel majority upholding AB 51, switched sides on Appellant’s en bane rehearing petition and voted for a panel rehearing. In a stunning act of backtracking, a panel of the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals has vacated its earlier decision upholding the validity of…
Read MoreDefenses to Performance of COVID-19 Impacted Contracts
A recent decision by an Orange County Superior Court judge confirms the viability of the defenses of impossibility or impracticability of performance of certain COVID-19 impacted contracts, and finds a remedy is reformation of such contracts in accordance with the equities of a particular case. Balboa Capital Corporation v. Ederra Plastic Surgery, PC, Case No.…
Read MoreSubject matter eligibility for obtaining patent protection
The U.S. Supreme Court has strongly indicated that it intends to grant a writ of certiorari to review a ruling by the Federal Circuit court of appeal, dealing with subject matter eligibility for obtaining patent protection. Patent subject matter eligibility is covered under 35 U.S.C. § 101, which provides that “[w]hoever invents or discovers any…
Read MoreControversy Over Overriding Intellectual Property Protections for COVID-19 Vaccines, Diagnostics and Treatments
A recent proposal by the U.S. government to the World Trade Organization (WTO) to direct its member states to override patent protections for COVID-19 vaccines, and a competing proposal by several countries, including India and South Africa to waive all Intellectual property (IP) rights to COVID-19 vaccines, treatment drugs and diagnostics, has gained world-wide attention…
Read MoreCalifornia IP Protection for Cannabis Businesses
Daily Journal recently published an article by, Dr. Dariush Adli, President at ADLI Law Group discussing how legalization of recreational Cannabis in California in 2016 has resulted in a burst of cannabis related new business activity in the state directed to development of cannabis related products, processes and services. Intellectual property and the exclusivity it…
Read MoreTrademark Infringement in Cannabis
Cannabis and Hemp CBD companies should be increasingly vigilant regarding the risks of potential trademark infringements of non-cannabis and hemp-related marks. There has been a long history of cannabis products in the unlicensed markets with similar or near-identical names, logos, or identifying artwork to well-known brands, products, companies, and in some instances, well-known persons. These…
Read MoreConsideration of Non-Traditional Trademarks in Branding Strategy
Many are surprised to learn that a scent can be a trademark. For example, toy and board game company Hasbro has registered the “Play-Dough” scent mark, which it described as “a sweet, slightly musky, vanilla fragrance, with slight overtones of cherry, combined with the smell of a salted, wheat-based dough.” The Play-Dough scent mark is…
Read MoreThe Unappreciated Value of Design Patents
By: Dr. Dariush Adli Design patents are often treated as the forgotten sibling of their better known and more popular utility patents. That is unfortunate because it fails to give proper recognition to the tremendous potential of design patents to add value to a business’s bottom line. Relative to utility patents, design patents are inexpensive…
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