BizTech Law Blog

What is a Deepfake and How Might it Impact Your Business?

With the rise of generative artificial intelligence (AI) and its various synthetic media outputs, deepfakes are just one of many new risks to businesses. Deepfakes pose considerable threats to companies, potentially damaging reputation, trust, and financial stability through malicious impersonation and manipulation of digital content. Read More ›

Categories: Artificial Intelligence (AI), Copyright, Cybersecurity, Defamation, Privacy, Technology, Trademarks

Posted by: Taylor A. Gast, Lindsey M. Mead

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Under the Bridge – The Rise of Copyright Trolls in the Intellectual Property Space

Through tactical litigation practices, copyright trolls rely on copyright law to allege infringement and threaten major statutory damages upon unsuspecting defendants. The term “copyright troll” is an unflattering nickname for someone who manipulates the intellectual property (“IP”) laws to force a “toll” by way of a settlement payout on market participants. Read More ›

Categories: Alerts and Updates, Billing/Payment, Compliance, Copyright, Intellectual Property, Lawsuit, Trademarks

Posted by: Lindsey M. Mead, Mikhail Murshak

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What’s in a Name? Protecting Your Business’s Name from a Look-Alike

Due to the depth of information this article provides, the full article is linked below and is also featured under 'Publications' on this site.

As the old phrase goes: what’s in a name? For any business, a name is a brand. A name is tied to a reputation, a marketing strategy, and a presence within an industry. We have all laughed at off-brand products in grocery store aisles: Mountain Mist masquerading as Mountain Dew, Mr. Pibb stepping in for Dr. Pepper, or Cinnamon Crunch Squares replacing Cinnamon Toast Crunch. Other times, similar names represent companies in unrelated industries: Domino Sugar vs. Domino’s Pizza or Delta Airlines vs. Delta Faucets. But when does a company’s name cross the line into violating another company’s rights?

See the full article here.

Categories: Intellectual Property, Trademarks

Posted by: Andrew C. Vredenburg, Jim W. Scales (Summer Associate)

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Legal Essentials: How to Select a Trademark for your Business

Planning on starting your own business? One of the first things that you should do is select a trademark. Read More ›

Categories: Copyright, Trademarks

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Supreme Court Strikes Down Provision of Lanham Act That Barred Registration of Disparaging Trademarks

The United States Supreme Court recently struck down a provision of the Lanham Act that denies registration of disparaging trademarks. Read More ›

Categories: Intellectual Property, News, Trademarks

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What is a Trademark?

What is a trademark? A trademark is the identity that you have in the marketplace specifically associated with your goods or services. Any name, phrase, identity, symbol or logo your company uses in conjunction with selling your goods and services is a trademark. There are two types of trademarks. Learn more in the short video below.

Categories: Intellectual Property, Trademarks

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Does my Small Business Need to Protect its Intellectual Property?

There are four basic kinds of intellectual property that you can protect: trademarks, copyrights, patents and trade secrets. At the very early stages of starting a business you will want to protect your business name or brand through a trademark. Learn more about intellectual property basics and what you need to protect, in the Youtube video below.

Categories: Copyright, Intellectual Property, Patents, Trade Secrets, Trademarks

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How to Protect Your Business's Intellectual Property

Sam Frederick and John Mashni, both attorneys for Foster Swift, will be presenting a live webinar on how to protect your business's intellectual property on Tuesday, September 15, 2015 at the Lansing Regional Chamber Board Room. The webinar will be held from 8 a.m. to 9:30 a.m.

They will discuss copyright, trademark and trade secret basics and the importance of monitoring and enforcing your intellectual property rights. Frederick and Mashni will also present the best practices for protecting your intellectual property.

For more information and to register for the webinar, click here (We have identified that the following link is no longer active, and it has been removed.)

Categories: Intellectual Property, Patents, Trade Secrets, Trademarks

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What's in a Name: Selecting a Name for Your Business

Why is a business name so important? A name is everything, it is your business's identity. When you select your business name, from a legal perspective, you need to come up with a unique name, a name that does not infringe on others rights. Unique names are the easiest to protect. Learn more about protecting you business name in the video below:

Categories: Intellectual Property, Trademarks

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Will the Government Force the Redskins to Change their Name?

On June 18, the United States Patent and Trademark Office ("USPTO") cancelled the Washington Redskins' trademark in its team name, concluding that the term "Redskin" was racially offensive and derogatory towards Native Americans. 

Under the Lanham Act, Federal Trademark Law prohibits the registration of trademarks that "may disparage" individuals or groups or "bring them into contempt or disrepute."  In a controversial 2-1 decision, the USPTO agreed with a group of petitioners who claimed the team name was disparaging to Native Americans, and thus was not permitted to receive the protections afforded by trademark law. The Washington Redskins plan to appeal the decision and have responded by saying that the term is meant to honor Native Americans and is not considered offensive by many. Read More ›

Categories: Trademarks

Posted by: Tyler J. Olney (Summer Associate)

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