Cokato Minnesota attorney Thomas B. James presented a program on "IP Issues in Probate Cases" for the National Association of Legal Assistants (NALA). It is now available on-demand for legal assistants seeking continuing education credit or others with an interest. NALA website .
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Is Jazz Confusingly Similar to Music? That is the question Minnesota attorney Thomas B. James (blogger at The Cokato Copyright Attorney) poses in this intriguing article. " Bertini v. Apple Inc ., No. 21-2301 (Fed. Cir. 2023). Apple, Inc. attempted to register the trademark APPLE MUSIC for both sound recordings and live musical performances (among other things). Bertini, a professional musician, filed an opposition, claiming to have used the mark APPLE JAZZ in connection with live performances since 1985, and to have started using it in connection with sound recordings in the 1990s. Bertini argued that APPLE MUSIC would likely cause confusion with APPLE JAZZ. The first question that popped into my head, of course, was whether a consumer would really be likely to confuse jazz with music. I mean, come on. Sadly, however, that was not the legal issue in this case. The legal issue was whether, and in what circumstances, priority of use can be established by “tacking” a new trademark ...