NBA Player’s ‘Scary’ Use Was Fair Use, Judge Says 

Former Boston Celtics point guard Terry Rozier scored a fair use win on Monday when a New York federal judge ruled that his use of the iconic mask from the movie “Scream” was “a means of satirizing and ridiculing the perception of ruthless high-scoring athletes in the NBA.” Scary Terry has blossomed in Charlotte since being dealt from Boston. We expect we will be hearing more from Scary Terry once the season starts! Also cool to note that this is the company that licensed the original mask for the movie Scream in the 90’s

https://www.law360.com/ip/articles/1425667/nba-player-s-scary-use-was-fair-use-judge-says-


Marvel Battles To Keep ‘Avengers’ Characters’ Copyrights

Marvel launched an all-out counterattack Friday on an organized effort by representatives of former Marvel writers and artists to claw back copyrights on iconic characters including Spider-Man, Iron Man and Black Widow. Battle between the estates of the four original writers and artists and Marvel has taken a new turn. Be interesting to see where this goes because Marvel is claiming that the work was done for-hire. 

https://www.law360.com/ip/articles/1425024/marvel-battles-to-keep-avengers-haracters-copyrights


Disney Beats Evel Knievel Brand Owner’s ‘Toy Story 4’ TM Suit

Again Disney comes out ahead in a Trademark case in regards to the Evil Knievel look-a-like in Toy Story 4. Duke Caboom was obviously made to be a Canadian version of Evil Knievel, but there were enough differences that the judge nixed the claims of K and K promotions without prejudice. Keanu Reeves voiced Duke Caboom for those wondering. 

https://www.law360.com/ip/articles/1425125/disney-beats-evel-knievel-brand-owner-s-toy-story-4-tm-suit


Ex-Blue Jays Pitcher Drops Sign-Stealing Suit Against Astros

More Sports!!! This far flung suit has been dropped by Michael Bolsinger, in which he claimed the Astros violated a Trade Secrets act when they stole his pitching signs. This story arose a couple of months ago. Can’t believe it took him this long to drop the suit. 

https://www.law360.com/ip/articles/1425082/ex-blue-jays-pitcher-drops-sign-stealing-suit-against-astros


USPTO Will Take On More Prioritized Applications

On a more serious note, here is some news from the USPTO saying they plan to take on up to 15,000 Track One applications this year, which was only 12k last year and 10k in 2019. For a fee of $4,000, you can get a decision in an average time of 8 months, compared to 24 months on a traditional application. Good to keep in mind in case you ever need to get something through quickly!

https://www.law360.com/ip/articles/1424703/uspto-will-take-on-more-prioritized-applications