Author Archives: John DiGiacomo

In the Internet Age, opening a browser and punching in the name of a website has become a routine process. If the technology does what it’s supposed to, you will arrive at your cyber destination within seconds. Have you ever stopped to consider what all the letters and dots in the website’s address mean? Most […]

Is Shinola “Made in USA,” or do they fall outside the FTC’s scope? Shinola has publicly claimed that despite risking possible contradiction of Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) regulations, they will continue to use “Built in Detroit” as their tagline on watches. The FTC requires that when a product claims that it is “Made in USA” or […]

The gaming industry is projected to make $91.5 billion in revenue in 2015. This massive industry has become a spotlight for legal battles ever since the first mainstream Nintendo console, Atari, was released in 1985. Game developing is not like many other industries that only need to worry about one aspect of intellectual property law. […]

As the app market speeds up, developers are rushing from app conception to coding to cross-platform publication. At the same time, developers are trying to navigate this new marketplace without losing any rights to their creative work. The Apple App Store presents a specific set of guidelines for developers to abide by while creating their […]

The Anticybersquatting Consumer Protection Act (ACPA) makes it illegal to register, use, or traffic in a domain name that is identical or confusingly similar to a distinctive mark, or that is identical or confusingly similar to, or dilutive of, a famous mark, with a “bad faith intent to profit” from the mark. As emphasized above, […]

The Securities and Exchange Committee (SEC) recently voted to adopt a new set of rules that allows for Regulation Crowdfunding (officially, “debt and equity crowdfunding”). Regulation Crowdfunding is a term used to define a middle ground between crowdfunding platforms (like Kickstarter) and public offerings (like IPO’s). While the former sees little regulation, and the latter […]

Will.i.am, otherwise known as William Adams (‘applicant’), was seeking the trademark ‘I AM’ for a collection of cosmetics, beauty and skin care products, and other hygiene related products, among other items. In three decisions released October 7, 2015, the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board affirmed a lower decision and refused to register trademarks for celebrity […]

Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act (“CDA”) protects online service providers of interactive websites against liability that can arise from third party content.[1] Section 230(c)(1) provides “[n]o provider or user of an interactive computer service shall be treated as the publisher or speaker of any information provided by another information content provider.”[2] While section […]

On September 3, 2015, in a rather unprecedented decision, a majority of the Washington Supreme Court held that Backpage.com, an online service provider, might not be guaranteed the protections provided for under the Communications Decency Act (“CDA”). JS v Village Voice Media Holdings involved minors that were featured in advertisements for sexual services on Backpage.com. The […]

In City of Inglewood v Joseph Teixeira, the Court found that Teixeira’s use of City Council recordings in his personal critical commentary videos did not violate any kind of copyright laws. The Court’s decision to grant Teixeira’s motion to dismiss was not especially surprising. California state law creates a strong presumption supporting public access to […]