News - McDaniels IP Solicitors | Intellectual Property Lawyers Newcastle

Lack of Funk in Royalty Dispute

We have written many times on copyright claims against well-known songs and artists. One of the most famous of these is Uptown Funk by Mark Ronson, which has been the subject of four separate lawsuits alleging copyright infringement. One of these was brought by the heirs of Robert and Ronnie Wilson who were known as […]

Belarus Legalises Digital Piracy

Belarus, a county landlocked in Eastern Europe and a close ally of Russia has recently passed a new law, permitting digital piracy until the end of 2024. The new law, which was enacted on 03 January 2023 legalises digital piracy if the copyright holder of the pirated material is from a country which commits “unfriendly […]

Copyright Infringement: Not What Dr Dre Ordered

There has been a long history of politicians using well-known music, usually in campaign adverts or at rallies, without permission and with such use subsequently being objected to by the artist. The objection is normally on political grounds, as invariably the musician does not agree with the views or record of the politician in question. […]

The Journey Continues

Steve Terry, former frontman of American rock band Journey, has dropped the proceedings he issued against his former bandmates. Terry issued proceedings in September 2022 against Freedom JN LLC, a company owned by Journey members Neal Schon and Jonathon Cain. Terry requested the company be prevented from using the bands trade marks on any official […]

Three stripes and you're out, but what about four?

German multinational corporation Adidas have issued proceedings against American fashion designer Thom Browne for alleged trade mark infringement. The claim was filed back in June 2021 on the grounds Thom Browne’s parallel four-striped designs are “confusingly similar” to and “imitates” Adidas’ own three-striped mark. The parties appeared in court in Manhattan on 03 January 2023 […]

Bear facing a Grylling

Adventurer and television presenter Bear Grylls has been summoned by the High Court of Delhi over alleged copyright infringement. Bear Grylls has been named, amongst others for the alleged infringement over his hit reality show “Get Out Alive with Bear Grylls”. Scriptwriter Arrman Shankar Sharma issued the proceedings claiming that the script infringed his original […]

The Piracy of Password Sharing

UK-based customers of popular streaming sites such as Netflix, Amazon Prime Video and Disney Plus have been warned that password sharing and thus “accessing… without paying a subscription” may be illegal. The UK Intellectual Property Office (“IPO”) published the “Meta counterfeit and piracy campaign” guidance on 19 December 2022 which stated: Piracy is a major […]

The Tales of a Conflicted Journey

Controversy has struck the American rock band Journey following the service of a cease-and-desist letter by band member Neal Schon on fellow band member Jonathon Cain. The letter was served following Cain’s performance of the band’s hit song “Don’t Stop Believin” at Mar-a-Lago, a Republican event organised by Donald Trump. Schon allegedly instructed legal counsel […]

Robbing Podcasters

Podcasts have become a huge phenomenon that have swept the digital market in recent years. Whilst filled with opportunity, podcasts also harbour an array of risk. That is all too familiar for the original co-hosts of the hit podcast “Sex, Lies & DM Slides”, Gizzi Erskine and Sydney Lima. The co-hosts claim they have been […]

Copying: It's an Aldi thing?

Back in February, we reported on the heavily publicised Caterpillar dispute between supermarket giants Aldi and Marks & Spencer. The supermarkets have been back in court this month over further infringement of intellectual property rights, this time over a gin liqueur bottle. Marks and Spencer sued Aldi for alleged registered design right infringement of the […]

Round 2: Bull v Dawg

Monster Energy has lost its latest High Court appeal in an attempt to register the mark “Red Dawg”. In 2020, Monster Energy filed a trade mark application to register the mark “Red Dawg”, this application was opposed by Red Bull on the grounds the mark would cause confusion amongst the public and take an unfair […]

No Guns (N' Roses) Please

American hard rock band Guns N’ Roses have issued proceedings against a gun shop in Texas for alleged trade mark infringement. The shop in Texas is trading under the name “Texas Guns N’ Roses” and this, claims the band, infringes upon the bands trade mark. In documents filed with the court, the band claims the […]

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