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Once Again, A’s Denied “Las Vegas Athletics” and “Vegas Athletics” Trademarks

The Oakland A’s move to Nevada has hit a major legal snag. For the second time, the USPTO has refused to register "Las Vegas Athletics," citing issues with geographic descriptiveness and a lack of "acquired distinctiveness." Using the A's relocation as a high-profile case study, we break down why fame in one city doesn't guarantee trademark rights.

February 19, 2026

An H&M store

Memo from H&M to Forever 21: “Beach Please” Stop Copying Us

According to The Fashion Law, Swedish clothing retailer H&M is suing LA-based clothing retailer Forever 21 for copyright infringement, trade dress infringement, false designation of origin and unfair competition, over the design of one of its canvas tote bags, which features the groan-inducing or very clever play on words “Beach Please” set against a line of palm trees and a colorful background.

November 03, 2015

A stack of books

Google Books is Legal and It Only Took a Decade To Find Out

Google scored a major victory earlier this month when the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Manhattan ruled that the company’s massive undertaking in creating a digital library doesn’t infringe on the rights of authors because it’s fair use.

October 28, 2015

A group of employees talking to each other at work

“Let’s get crazy” with DMCA takedown notices

On February 7, 2007, a young Pennsylvania woman named Stephanie Lenz uploaded to YouTube a video of her two adorable children dancing to the Prince song “Let’s Go Crazy.” She titled the 29-second long video “Let’s Get Crazy #1,” and then (probably) went about the rest of her day.

September 22, 2015

A modern office building (empty)

European Artists’ Rights Org Goes After SoundCloud for Copyright Abuse

Previously on this blog, we wrote about the current battles between the copyright holders of recorded works (you know these works as “music”) and certain scofflaw streaming services that seem to operate based on a policy of denying artists any share in the profit created from streaming their music.

September 08, 2015

Two people sign a contract

Pixels Movie DMCA Takedown Leaves Trail of Innocent Videos in Its Wake

Pixels is a new Adam Sandler “movie” that you almost certainly should not see. (Sample review snippet: “Pixels, it is clear even from afar, is the sort of vanity project that represents everything that is wrong with Hollywood.”)

August 25, 2015

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