Zoox, a self-driving vehicle startup, has settled a trade secret dispute with Tesla. In March of last year, Tesla filed a lawsuit alleging that four former employees hired by Zoox stole trade secrets. The employees had allegedly made copies of sensitive documents containing proprietary information before walking out the door. Zoox will pay an undisclosed…
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The popular Call of Duty video games is allowed to feature Humvees without having to obtain a license. So says a New York judge who ruled that Activision, publisher of the games, isn’t infringing trademarks protecting the vehicles. Developers viewed the ruling as a victory for using images to create a sense of realism in…
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The Led Zeppelin copyright case over their signature tune “Stairway to Heaven” has survived its latest challenge. The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a jury verdict finding that the song did not infringe on “Taurus.” A lawsuit had alleged that the opening riff of “Stairway to Heaven” was stolen from the 1968 song. The decision…
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Georgia-based chicken restaurant franchise Zaxby’s uses a familiar logo. The image shows a red silhouetted chicken inside of a yellow circle. The restaurant has now filed a trademark infringement lawsuit against Louisville’s Joella’s Hot Chicken over claims that it uses a similar logo. The Trademark Infringement Lawsuit The trademark infringement lawsuit concerns Joella’s use of…
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A motion filed in Los Angeles Superior Court names Hilton Worldwide Holdings in a lawsuit alleging theft of proprietary documents. The motion has Hilton accused of stealing trade secrets from rival hotes for its Waldorf Astoria Beverly Hills luxury hotel. The Peninsula Beverly Hills says that Hilton conspired with former Peninsula manager Houssem Tasco to…
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The daughter of the late Stan Lee has filed a lawsuit over the comic book icon’s intellectual property rights. Prior to his death in 2018, Lee had brought (and later dismissed) a $1 billion suit against POW! Entertainment. The lawsuit claimed that POW took advantage of Lee’s deteriorating condition and coerced him to sign documents…
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It’s amazing how three simple letters can trigger a federal case. That’s what two Utah companies learned about the abbreviation “CBD.” Portland, Maine-based coffee shop Coffee by Design uses a CBD logo on its coffee bags. Coffee by Design holds nationwide trademark rights to “CBD” for coffee, food, and drinks. But other companies have tried…
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Peloton Interactive Inc., the exercise equipment and media company are suing competitor Echelon Fitness LLC over trademark and patent infringement. Peloton is accusing its rival of saturating the market with “cheap, copycat products” and engaging in false advertising. Echelon is also accused of lying about Peloton, stealing its customers, and free-riding off of its technology.…
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A Virginia jury has ruled against cable giant Cox Communications in a copyright infringement case, awarding the plaintiffs $1 billion. EMI, Warner Music Group, Sony Music, and Universal Music had sued Cox over illegal piracy by the company’s subscribers. The labels had alleged that over 10,000 songs were pirated while the company failed to do…
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In February 2018, Uber reached a settlement with self-driving technology company Waymo concerning allegations of intellectual property theft. Waymo had sued Uber, claiming that its autonomous vehicle technology misappropriated its trade secrets. As part of the agreement, an independent investigator was hired to look into Waymo’s allegations. The end results seem to have confirmed Waymo’s…
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