Samsung cites to science fiction to defend itself against Apple’s Patent claim. Did a famous 1960s movie display the tablet PC?

Victor Willis brought his disco ball to District Court this month. From 1977-79 Willis served and protected audiences as the Village People’s lead singer, policeman, and writer of 33 dance-club hits. Now he …

Some music artists might soon be able to end their copyright licensing agreements with record companies, but being able to will depend on whether they are considered record company employees. If they are successful in ending the agreements, it could instigate the rise of a new generation of artists.

Please submit completed IP-related papers and a cover page with your name and the title of the article by 5pm EST on August 31st, 2011 to ipbrief@wcl.american.edu.

The colors used in sugar-substitute packaging may serve as the basis for a trade dress infringement claim.

California- based software company PacketVideo sues the newest music streaming service, Spotify, for patent infringement. Tech blogs are claiming that this is another example of an infringement case based largely on an overly broad patent.

The Federal Circuit’s 2-1 Myriad decision upholding the patentability of isolated human genes represents sound judgment and takes into account the well-settled expectations of the parties affected by the ruling.

In response to a trademark infringement lawsuit, the makers of Minecraft offer to settle— with a Quake 3 tournament where the winner takes all. While vastly entertaining, the unique settlement offer highlights the ability to creatively negotiate terms that could benefit both sides of the dispute.

Based on the recent experiences of European and Japanese companies in the high-speed rail industry, those who wish to protect patents and avoid creating competitors may want to steer clear of technology-transfer agreements with Chinese enterprises.

If even Weird Al, whose works are clearly parodies and thus should clearly be fair use, cannot rely solely on fair use, then perhaps there are problems with our fair use doctrine, and there needs to be more education and awareness of the rights granted to the American public.