On April 9, 2019, my IP colleagues Kerry Lee and Matt Jones published an informative post about using the ® and ™ trademark symbols – which are internationally used and recognized to signal trademark registration. As their post had a UK perspective, we thought it would be useful to provide a US perspective as well. US trademark law is governed by the federal Lanham Act, 15 U.S.C. §§ 1051 et seq.  The Lanham Act does…

Despite the consistent and continuous opposition to the controversial Article 13, the European Parliament has adopted the ‘Directive on copyright in the Digital Single Market’ (the Directive). MEPs debated and subsequently voted in favour of the Directive, 348 votes to 274 (36 MEPs abstained). The Final Wording of the Directive The latest version of the Directive can be seen here. Articles 11 and 13 have always been the most controversial elements of the Directive…

Although it is very common to see the ® symbol on advertising and marketing materials in everyday life, how many consumers know what it means? And how common is it for brands to misuse the ® symbol? The ® symbol  In the UK, you can only insert the small ® symbol after a mark if you have a fully registered trade mark with a certificate of registration and registration number. The UK Intellectual Property Office…

The wake of the SEC’s guidance on classification of digital assets (here) and no-action letter to digital token issuer TurnKey Jet, Inc. (here), many may have forgotten or ignored that the final arbiter of the definition of “security” under federal law is not the SEC; it is the federal judiciary.  On March 31, 2019, Judge Vernon Broderick of the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York weighed…

Over the last year, the Committees of Advertising Practice (the CAP), have taken an increasingly robust view on gambling ads. Last year, it announced tougher standards to be imposed on gambling advertising after its review of gambling advertising revealed that – whilst advertising did not itself play a causal role in problem gambling – claims, imagery and approaches were deployed that may unduly influence people to behave irresponsibly. Those standards included restrictions on ads that…

On April 3, 2019, the SEC’s Strategic Hub for Innovation and Financial Technology (“FinHub”) issued a long-awaited framework for analyzing whether a given digital asset constitutes a “security” under federal law and is thus subject to the vast complex of federal securities laws and regulations.  Simultaneously, the SEC’s Division of Corporate Finance issued its first “no-action” letter for a digital token offering, stating that it will not recommend enforcement action to the Commission based on…

Last month, Chris Stevens-Smith wrote about football cards’ new lease of life through the use of blockchain for our sister blog Sports Shorts.  The article looks at the use of crypto trading cards, and how football clubs are using technology to engage with their fans. You can read the blog here, and subscribe to Sports Shorts if you would like to receive regular updates and insights on Sports Law.…