The Golan v. Holder Decision

Decided to listen to Gordon P. Firemark, Esq.’s Entertainment Law Podcast Update in order to beef up on my intellectual and legal knowledge. During the podcast one case truly stood out.  Although the entertainment podcast was riddled with juicy and informative legal talk dealing with music licensing, video game combat helicopters, Velvet Underground vs Andy Warhol's Banana and copyright protection. However, it was the discussion of the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision on Golan v. Holder and the precedence it sets for future copyright cases that raised my eyebrows. So I took it upon myself to brush up on this case.

Am I being infringed upon?

If you have not read my previous blog post then you may not know that I have a certain kind of disdain for trademark infringers, counterfeiters and bootleggers who purposefully copy and exploit another company’s brand without visually applying some kind of satiric artful meaning behind their brand, a la Andy Warhol style.

Learning the elements of trademark infringement and copyright laws is ever so important and given my own dreams and aspirations in fashion, entertainment and law it behooves me to stay current on the rules and regulations that could hurt my brand by creating a legal liability.  

Ever since the Lanham Act and Trademark Counterfeiting Act of 1984 trademark infringement has been a useful weapon in the fight against counterfeiters, counterfeiting channels and those who choose to infringe upon or dilute another company's brand. There have been a few seminal cases within the fashion industry in recent months that may affect my future endeavors. Three examples of current trademark infringement court cases within the apparel industry is the Navajo Nation, The et al v. Urban Outfitters, Inc. et al, Louis Vuitton Malletier, S.A. v. Akanoc Solutions, Inc., and Christian Louboutin v. Yves Saint Laurent America.