Author Archives: John DiGiacomo

Trademarks are logos, phrases, words, marks, designs, and other things that are placed on products, websites, advertising, etc., that identify a commercial source for goods or services. Current marketing lingo speaks in terms of “branding,” and, in essence, branding is all about trademarking. In turn, trademarking begins with getting the trademark registered either at the […]

Copyrights entitle the owners to exclusive use of their original works of authorship. That right means that others cannot use — either whole or in part — the original work. This means that the work cannot be used, copied, displayed, performed, etc., without permission. Just as importantly, no works derivative of the original can be […]

There is a great deal of litigation pending, starting with respect to AI-generated images and texts and whether such images and texts infringe upon copyrights held by original creators and holders of those copyrights. The most-watched case is pending in the federal court in the Northern District of California, and it is called Andersen v. […]

Trademarking is an essential component of modern branding strategies. Put another way, “branding” is about trademarking. One key aspect of branding is the consistent use of a brand/trademark across social media platforms (like TikTok, Instagram, YouTube, X, personal websites, and more). Influencers spend enormous effort using a unique brand name or concept across multiple platforms. […]

When a level of success has been achieved by eSports celebrities and talent, attention must turn to protecting personal and family assets. One possibility is creating and maintaining what is called a “Loan-Out Company.” In various forms, these have long been used by celebrities in the movie, music, and sports industries. In this article, the […]

A federal court in Texas has issued a decision holding that the Federal Trade Commission’s (“FTC”) Rule banning the use of employee non-compete agreements is unlawful. See Ryan, LLC v. Federal Trade Commission (U.S. Dist. ND Texas 2024). The court held that the FTC’s Rule was invalid nationwide and was not limited to the parties […]

Many Software-as-a-Service (“SaaS”) businesses have automatic renewal provisions in their contracts. There are obvious advantages to these provisions, such as reliable cash flow and avoiding the employee, managerial, administrative, and other costs associated with repeated contract renewal negotiations. However, SaaS businesses must be aware of State and federal automatic renewal statutes and their requirements. The […]

Many States have recently enacted consumer data protection statutes. Indeed, at this point, almost half of the U.S. States now have such a statute. In reviewing the most recently enacted statutes, one trend that can be seen is the increasing focus on defining the word “consent” to exclude any sort of agreement/consent obtained “through the […]

The Artificial Intelligence Act (“AI Act”) has now gone into effect in the European Union. Implementation of the AI Act will be phased in over three years or so, allowing businesses time to evaluate their AI systems and create compliance policies and programs. The purpose of the AI Act is to regulate the use of […]

As discussed in Part One of this series, the Artificial Intelligence Act (“AI Act”) has now gone into effect in the European Union. In Part One of this series, the Internet Law Attorneys at Revision Legal summarized the applicability of the AI Act, some exemptions from coverage, and the effective date timetable. In Part Two, […]