Author Archives: John DiGiacomo

Business disparagement is a form of defamation, but directed at a business. In general terms, business disparagement, as defamation, is stating something false — provably false — about a business that causes injury or damage to the business. Importantly, expressed opinions are NOT defamation. Business disparagement can come in two forms — oral and written. […]

Trademarks are protected in the US by both civil and criminal statutes. Civil lawsuits can be brought under the Lanham Act by private parties alleging trademark infringement. However, in appropriate circumstances, the government can bring criminal charges of trafficking the goods that infringe on protected trademarks. In this sense, trafficking is used in the same […]

The fundamental strategy for maximizing the power of a trademark is consistent, continual and repeated USE of the trademark. Trademarks are, of course, designs, logos, words or other symbols that identify a particular commercial source of a product or service. USE of the trademark is required for a trademark to even exist. And, USE of […]

In late January 2022, the US Patent and Trademark Office (“USPTO”) canceled more than 5,500 trademark applications filed falsely and fraudulently by companies and websites controlled and operated by a Pakistani company now under investigation by the Pakistan government. These companies and their websites offered “low-cost trademark filing” services. But the websites and the services […]

Under federal trademark law, trademarks that are deemed to be “famous” are entitled to extra legal protection. Whether a trademark is “famous” is a factual determination that includes these non-exhaustive statutory factors: The duration, extent, and geographic reach of advertising and publicity of the mark, whether advertised or publicized by the owner or third parties […]

The right-to-repair movement has been in the news lately. Right-to-repair advocates argue that, if you buy a product, you should be allowed to repair it if it becomes nonfunctional. Further, companies should be required to provide manuals, instructions and tools — particularly software tools — that make repair possible. Companies are resistant to complying with […]

New lawsuits under California’s Unruh Act may face hurdles in light of a recent California Court of Appeals ruling, which requires a bona fide interest to use the website that is the subject matter of the lawsuit. In the matter of Thurston v. Omni Hotels Management Corp., the California Court of Appeals held that plaintiffs […]

The Federal Trade Commission (“FCC”) recently issued its final rule with respect to new cybersecurity protocols. See here. The Rule is called “Standards for Safeguarding Customer Information” and is applicable to financial and related institutions. The FCC’s amended Safeguard Rule is a very good and useful example of the current standards required by governmental agencies […]

The answer depends on how the trade secret became publicly disclosed. As defined legally, a trade secret is any sort of information that has commercial value from the fact that the information is secret. The law protects trade secrets. However, if the information becomes known publicly through disclosure, then, generally, the status of the information […]

In general, a trade secret is only legally protectable as long as the information is kept secret. Under both federal and state law, a trade secret is generally defined as any information from which commercial value is derived from the fact that the information is secret. Information as simple as customer or vendor lists can […]