The bulk of artist revenue on tour comes from concert attendance together with the sale of merchandise sold at the venue and online. In fact, about 80% of bands’ profits from live events come from merchandise bought by fans. In the music industry, it is common and acknowledged that your music can be streamed or…
Are you a musician? Do you need to protect your band name or logo from counterfeit sellers on ecommerce platforms? In order to obtain nationwide protection, you should register your band name, phrase and/or logo with the United States Patent and Trademark Office. The registration process is relatively straight forward but can be time consuming….
The Beyonce suit against the Texas company, Feyonce, Inc., for selling merchandise that infringes on her trademark, is a clear example of how intellectual property law can protect bands from infringers selling knock off merchandise of their band’s trademark. The lawsuit was filed in the Southern District of New York by Beyonce and names Feyonce,…
No band or musician is safe from another seller profiting off of their brand, including the famous Australian rock band AC/DC. The band owns a registered trademark on the principal register of the United States Patent and Trademark Office (“USPTO”) for “AC/DC” that consists of the letters and symbols in a gothic font, with a…
First impressions are said to make or break a relationship. This is especially true when interacting with a product. The first thing a potential customer will see is the product’s packaging. Packaging is often not given the same attention as a brand name or logo. However, as we will discuss, packaging can be an equally…
Big Shot Billy Joel was running down the River Of Dreams until an unlicensed seller was selling his merchandise. Root Beer Rags, Ltd. was the authorized seller of Billy Joel merchandise who was Movin’ Out of their tent inside the Milwaukee Arena to see why they were not selling as much merchandise as they should…
Intellectual property complaints (both valid and baseless) have become somewhat of a regularity on the Amazon platform, and a common cause for seller suspensions. For Amazon sellers, intellectual property issues can be complex, but more importantly, they can cause your business to shut down completely if you lose your ability to sell. The First Sale…
Amazon sellers are typically some of the most innovative entrepreneurs and are constantly finding new ways to make money and drive profit margins on the Amazon platform. One of the most lucrative business models used by Amazon sellers is online retail arbitrage. However, even though arbitrage can be lucrative, Amazon sellers should be aware that…
Amazon Seller Strategy: Fighting Counterfeiters on Amazon In 23 years, Amazon has evolved from a website that merely sold books to the largest ecommerce platform in the world. Today, fifty cents out of every dollar exchanged online is spent on the Amazon platform. As the Amazon platform has expanded, so have the opportunities for Amazon…
Memorandum of Law Issue: Whether an Amazon seller who lists their products against a pre-existing product detail page which violates a third party’s intellectual property rights is liable for infringement merely for adding products to the listing without knowledge of the infringement. Brief Answer: Although there is a defense called “innocent infringement” pursuant to…
Counterfeit products plague the Amazon platform, and are one of the most commonly cited complaints that sellers have. Countries like China, India, and Vietnam have an abundance of factories and manufacturers which has resulted in these areas being linked to the majority of this counterfeiting problem. Intellectual Property (IP) right protection is key to a…
Amazon sellers who list their own private label products can be subject to a hijacked listing, which occurs when another seller has posted a counterfeit or similar version of your private label product on your listing. This can be extremely frustrating for sellers, as its undermines their efforts to create their own brands and products,…
Amazon is taking an even further action in its fight against counterfeiters and intellectual property violations. Recently, the e-commerce giant announced that they will be expanding the Brand Registry program and implementing new tools to help sellers protect their brands and rights. Although Brand Registry has been around since 2015, it was technically in a…
An increasing issue in the music industry is the unauthorized use of another musician’s artwork. This commonly occurs when a famous and successful musician steals material from lesser-known artists, such as indie or underground bands, and uses it for their album cover, t-shirts, concert advertisements, or other merchandising purposes. When this occurs, the artists may…
