Intellectual Property

Latest Blog Post

Do You Need Permission to Cover a Song?

Covering a song can boost visibility and creativity, but it also raises important copyright questions. This guide explains when you need permission to record, post, or perform a cover, how licenses work, and what can happen if you skip the legal steps.

December 24, 2025

Beatles album

Paul McCartney and Sony/ATV Settle Over Rights to Beatles Music

Paul McCartney sued Sony/ATV, seeking a declaratory judgment on whether he would be able to regain his copyright ownership share to the music he helped create.

July 25, 2017

Instagram page open on a phone

Instagram Introduces New Feature for Labeling Sponsored Ads

Under FTC “truth-in-advertising” rules, spokespeople are required to make disclosures about payments. In an effort to make things more transparent, Instagram introduced a feature in June that will make it easier to label posts that are paid promotions.

July 19, 2017

Stickers of multiple corporate logos

Supreme Court Rules Ban on Disparaging Trademarks is Unconstitutional

In one of the most anticipated trademark cases in years, the Supreme Court has ruled that prohibiting the registration of disparaging marks violates the Free Speech Clause of the First Amendment.

July 05, 2017

An empty courtroom, rows of seats can be seen

Is Zorro in the Public Domain? Lawsuit to Find Out Moves Forward

In 2013, Robert Cabell filed a complaint against Zorro Productions in the state of Washington to determine whether the company rightfully owned the intellectual property rights to Zorro, and sought cancellation of its trademarks related to the character, among other claims.

June 20, 2017

A pastry chef icing a cupcake

Pastry Chef Sues Food Network Over Recipe How-to Video

LaBau, who owns the copyright registration for her snow globe cupcake how-to video, is asking the court to temporarily, preliminarily and permanently enjoin Food Network from displaying the video on their Facebook page.

June 13, 2017

Two people playing a video game

Judge Allows Video Game Maker’s Declaratory Judgment Counterclaim on Issue of Displaying Copyrighted Tattoos in Games to Proceed

Last February, Solid Oak Sketches sued Take-Two for copyright infringement for featuring Kobe Bryant, LeBron James, DeAndre Jordan, Kenyon Martin, and Eric Bledsoe with tattoo designs that the agency claimed to own, in the game franchise NBA 2K.

June 06, 2017

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Advocates for the Creative Mind