Author: Evan Everist

Evan is a partner in Dorsey’s Trademark, Copyright and Advertising Group. He provides counsel to a wide variety of trademark and copyright owners in many industries, including multinational corporations with large international trademark portfolios, local non-profit organizations, and international musical acts.

Hard Times With WHOIS? INTA Wants To Know

If you have encountered any issues accessing WHOIS information, the International Trademark Association (“INTA”) wants to hear from you. Due to changes in privacy law brought on by the European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation (“GDPR”), it is becoming more difficult or impossible to access…

Master of Your Domain – ACPA Damages Sought by Greg LeMond

You might want to think twice before registering a domain name containing a competitor’s personal name or trademark.  Three-time Tour de France winner Greg LeMond put his “pedal to the metal” recently, suing two Minnesota businessmen under the Anticybersquatting Consumer Protection Act (“ACPA”). LeMond is…

KISS That Trademark Application Goodbye

We recently provided some commentary on Gene Simmons and his application to register the “devil horns” rock and roll hand symbol.  Well, you can now KISS that application goodbye, as Mr. Simmons has expressly abandoned his federal trademark application.  No details on the reason for…

THE DEVIL MADE ME DO IT

On June 9, 2017, Gene Simmons of Kiss rock band fame applied with the United States Patent and Trademark Office (“PTO”) to register the following mark for “Entertainment, namely, live performances by a musical artist; personal appearances by a musical artist” in Class 41:  …

Ed Sheeran Gears up to “Get it On” in Another Copyright Lawsuit

English pop musician Ed Sheeran once again finds himself in the crosshairs of a high-profile copyright infringement lawsuit, this time in the Southern District of New York over alleged similarities between his smash hit “Thinking Out Loud” and Marvin Gaye’s iconic “Let’s Get it On.” …

Sheeran-nuff: Another Copyright Infringement Suit

English pop musician Ed Sheeran has been sued for copyright infringement in the Central District of California over his recent hit song “Photograph,” which peaked at number ten on Billboard’s “The Hot 100” chart. The two songwriter-plaintiffs, Martin Harrington and Thomas Leonard, claim that “Photograph”…

Down Stream from Aereo: FilmOn Pulled by Different Legal Currents

Last year in American Broad. Cos., Inc. v. Aereo, Inc., the Supreme Court dealt a significant victory to the broadcast industry when it concluded that Aereo’s online streaming services infringed the broadcasters’ copyrighted works.  The crux of the case was whether Aereo publicly performed the…