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Social Media and Intel (Part IX): Select Publicity Rights Cases

This post provides short briefs of two publicity rights cases, which provide insights about publicity rights on social media. A previous post on the subject covered a couple of other cases. Ranveer Singh and Slippers Just before the movie Kill Dil, a Bollywood film starring Ranveer Singh, Govinda and others was released, a company by the name 'Yo Custom Freak' uploaded a Facebook image of slippers. The phrase 'Kill Dil' was written on the slippers and Ranveer Singh's photograph was…

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Intellepedia - IP News Updates

Social Media, IP and Business- A Presentation by Dr. Kalyan Kankanala

This presentation was delivered by Dr. Kalyan Kankanala as a part of a seminar on intellectual property, social media and business. The seminar was attended by IP professionals as well as corporates. The presentation entitled ‘Social Media IP and Business’ covered the following topics. Various types of IP on Social Media- Patents, Copyrights, Trademarks, Trade Secrets, Publicity Rights. Intellectual property violation on Social Media- Direct Contact, Take Down, instances Infringement. Let’s Go Crazy lawsuit Examples of…

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Social Media and IP : Part VII – Trade Mark Cases

PINTEREST, v. PINTRIPS Pinterest, a social media platform, which allows users to upload content and share it through what it calls as 'pins,' filed a suit against Pintrips, a company that allows users to compare travel plans and flight prices. In its suit, Pinterest claimed that it owns trade mark rights with respect to the mark, PIN, and that its use by Pintrips amounts to trade mark infringement and dilution. The case was filed in 2013 in a California Court.…

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Intellepedia - IP News Updates

Social Media and Intellectual Property (Part VI): Select Copyright Cases

This post briefs three copyright cases that provide insights into copyright issues with respect to content posted on Social Media platforms. Scrabble v. Scrabulous In 2008, two Indians Rajat and Jayant Agarwalla, launched a Facebook App called 'Scrabulous.' It was a word game similar to Scrabble. Initially Mattel, and later Hasbrow, right holders of the Scrabble game sued the Agarwalla brothers for both copyright and trade mark infringement at the Delhi High Court. After reviewing the facts, the Delhi High…

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Social Media and Intellectual Property (IP): Part V – Publicity Rights and Celebrity Rights

Social Media can make or break a personality. Most public figures from film stars like Amitabh Bachchan, Will Smith, Aishwarya Rai, etc., to political leaders like Narendra Modi, Barack Obama, etc., are very active on Social Media. While on one hand, Social Media enables celebrities gain popularity, on the other hand, a celebrity's activities on Social Media platforms makes it possible for extensive misuse and abuse of a celebrity's persona. Over the years, several instances of passing off, false endorsement,…

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