Author Archives: John DiGiacomo

The Federal Trade Commission Comes Calling | RSS.com Federal Trade Commission John Di Giacomo: Hey everyone, this is John Di Giacomo, and I’m joined as always, by my business partner, Eric Misterovich. Eric, how are you? Eric Misterovich: I’m doing great, John. How are you? John Di Giacomo: You are listening to the May It […]

Brand management is crucial to the success of businesses in this internet, social media, and influencer age. While the term “brand” is a bit broader and free-flowing, at heart “branding,” is about “trademarking.” When managing your brands and trademarks, you need your marketing staff, but it is just as important to have experienced trademark lawyers […]

No, although there can be an overlap. A patent is a type of intellectual property, and intellectual property also includes trademarks, copyrights, and trade secrets. These legally exist and are legally protected under US laws in the same manner as other property. Like real estate, intellectual property can be bought, sold, licensed, used as collateral, […]

It depends on what you mean by “successful.” If by “success” you mean your ability to create genius-level art that mesmerizes and brings forth powerful emotions, then, honestly, no, you do not need a copyright lawyer to be successful as an artist. On the other hand, there is the “business side” of being a successful […]

Trademark incontestability is a special status trademark. The process of obtaining incontestability involves filing with the US Patent and Trademark (“USPTO“) a form (with supporting documents) called a Section 15 Declaration of Incontestability. The Declaration can only be filed by the owner of a trademark, can only be filed if the trademark is listed on […]

Liability and Accountability in AI | RSS.com This podcast episode discusses the law applicable to artificial intelligence (AI), which is increasingly being used in various industries and applications. ChatGPT, a large language model, is introduced as an example of a neural network that can generate text, but sometimes produces false information. Other examples of AI […]

We start by understanding that all trademarks must be registered in association with some product or service. For example, the trademark PEPSI is most highly associated with a beverage, and EXXON is associated with petroleum products. For purposes of administration and management, trademark offices around the world have subdivided the vast number of goods and […]

Trademarking your company name is almost always a good business decision. Over time and as they become more famous, trademarks are valuable business assets in and of themselves and have been proven to drive sales through customer loyalty, product identification, and the ability to help launch new products creating new revenue streams. Trademarks serve an […]

Trademark clearance searches are a crucial initial step in establishing and registering a trademark. If you think that you have created a good trademark — a word, phrase, design, logo, mark, etc. — it is essential to ensure that your proposed trademark is not already in existence and not already being used. Under trademark law, […]

Generally, copyright law firms bill their legal services by the hour. However, in some cases, fees can be charged on a contingency fee basis or some hybrid thereof. For copyright infringement litigation, copyright clients will be involved as either the plaintiff or the defendant. Contingency fee arrangements are generally available only if you are the […]