Kanye West Even Stronger After Winning Appeal

Kanye West Performing / Matthew Field

Kanye West has won the appeal of a dismissal of a copyright case filed against him by producer Vincent Peters.

In Vince Peters, p/k/a “Vince P.” v. Kanye West, et al., recording artist Kanye West and music companies Roc-A-Fella Records, LLC and UMG Recordings, Inc. had been accused of copyright infringement involving West’s Grammy Award-winning song Stronger.

Peters alleged that they had infringed his copyright by copying portions of Peters' song Stronger, including the well known maxim “that which does not kill me makes me stronger.” 


Defense counsel moved to dismiss the case on the grounds that there were no protectable similarities between the two songs at issue.  

The District Court of the Northern District of Illinois agreed and granted West's motion to dismiss on March 9, 2011. 


The Court also rejected Vince P.’s argument that the original combination of the five words and phrases was protectable.

Lastly, the Court reviewed the two sets of lyrics and determined that lyrics were not substantially similar, and that, “just as a photographer can not claim copyright in the use of a particular aperture and exposure setting,” a common rhyme scheme does not qualify as original expression.  


On August 20, 2012, in a decision written by Judge Wood, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit affirmed the District Court's decision, finding that none of the allegedly similar words and phrases contained in the songs were protectable under copyright law.  

The District Court had noted that the phrase was a hackneyed one, tracing it back to 19th century German philosopher, Friedrich Nietzsche:

"Although the fact that both songs quote from a 19th century German philosopher might, at first blush, seem to be an unusual coincidence, West correctly notes that the aphorism has been repeatedly invoked in song lyrics over the past century."

MTV Tries to Put a Stop to The Situation

From "OfficialSituation.com" Website

Viacom has filed a formal complaint with the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (TTAB), asserting a legal opposition to Mike "The Situation" Sorrentino's attempt to register federal trademarks for certain catchphrases such as "twinning" and "GTL" ("Gym, Tan, Laundry") that he made popular on MTV's hit show Jersey Shore.


According to Viacom's TTAB filings, on June 22, 2009, Sorrentino signed a detailed written "Participant Agreement" assigning all rights to any "ideas, gags, suggestions ... and other material" he originated on Jersey Shore to the show's producers, and saying he would not use his quotes on T-shirts and other promotional items.  A copy of the agreement was attached as an exhibit to the complaint, but was heavily redacted to remove any extraneous information.

Additionally, to clearly demonstrate priority (seniority) of use, lawyers for Viacom included images of t-shirts, hats, mugs, mousepads and other paraphernalia that have been offered by Viacom's official store on Zazzle.com.  The printouts show use in commerce well before the date of Sorrentino's.

The only class of goods for which there may still be room for negotiation are GTL laundry bags, which are currently being sold by the Situation, at a discount.

Bakery Battle: Univ. of Alabama Program Threatens Local Cake Maker

Mary Cesar, the owner of Mary’s Cakes & Pastries in Northport, Alabama has routinely placed a script letter “A” on cakes she designed for University of Alabama-sponsored functions.

But Cesar recently received a formal cease and desist letter, demanding that she stop using "trademarks, name, logos, colors, slogans, mascots and other indicia associated with the University."

The letter was sent by Collegiate Licensing Company in Atlanta, which has a contract with UA to provide licensing services for the university's trademarked items.

"If UA sues us, it will put us out of business because we are a really small mom-and-pop-type of business," she told the Associated Press.

Cesar said her research indicated it would cost $750 to $3,000 to apply for a license to use the trademarks, a fee she said wasn't justified by her small volume of bakery items.

Cesar opened her bakery in Northport six years ago after moving to Alabama from California. Her main business is custom-decorated cakes. The bakery also makes pastries and cookies, including theme-shaped cookies that she varies throughout the year.  She reportedly started selling cookies shaped like elephants, hats and footballs, particularly during the fall, beginning several years ago.

The hat cookies had a light gray icing and squiggles like a houndstooth pattern, invoking memories of Paul W. "Bear" Bryant, and she had another cookie resembling Nick Saban's signature straw hat.  The elephant and football cookies often had a capital "A'' on them, making them popular with many local football fans.

UA has a reputation for aggressively protecting its brands.  But earlier this year, a federal appeals court sided with Alabama artist Daniel Moore in a trademark dispute involving UA. Moore is known for original paintings with sports themes, including many paintings depicting major moments in UA football games.

UA sued Moore, claiming he infringed on the university's trademarks by showing trademarked words and images in his paintings.

A federal appeals court rejected UA's argument this year, ruling the paintings were an artistic expression protected by the First Amendment.

FBI Shuts Down Major Android Application Piracy Sites

On August 21, the FBI announced that it had seized Applanet.net, SnappzMarket.net, and AppBucket.net with the cooperation of domestic and foreign governments, for offering illegally pirated android applications in violation of copyright laws.

Between the three sites, they hosted more than 50,000 cracked applications and games, and had collectively over 120,000 followers on Facebook and Twitter.

Prior to the execution of warrants and the seizure of the domain names, FBI agents downloaded thousands of "popular copyrighted mobile device apps" from the alternative online markets.

Apparently these applications were stored on web servers outside the U.S., which required the cooperation of Dutch and French law enforcement agencies.

From a Russian Prison Cell, Pussy Riot Seeks to Trademark Its Name

Игорь Мухин/GNU Free Documentation License

Several members of the punk rocker/feminist activist group known as "Pussy Riot" have sought to trademark the name from their Russian prison cell.


In February 2012, the controversial group performed a 30 second concert of sorts on the soleas of Moscow's Cathedral of Christ the Savior, in which they hurled obscenities against Virgin Mary, the Russian President Vladimir Putin and the Moscow Patriarch of the Russian Orthodox Church.

After a trial, they were found guilty of hooliganism motivated by religious hatred and sentenced to 2 years in prison.


Fear for their lives apparently hasn't dampened their ardor or intellectual property strategy, which consists of seeking to protect their name from unauthorized uses.

Pussy Riot's trademark lawyer said the group wishes to discourage attempts to use its name to derive profits or promote "questionable" projects that contradict its "ideals and aspirations."



He claims that profits will be tolerated only if the proceeds are used to "further fight the political system's imperfections."

China Accuses U.S. of Waging an "Invisible War" on the Internet

The Chinese government has demanded that the U.S. cede control of the Internet, accusing it of waging an "invisible war" against its enemies on the web.

In an article appearing in China's official newspaper, China accuses the U.S. of conducting a "pre-emptive strike" by refusing to give up control of the Internet in the name of protecting what it calls a “global resource.”

China claims that the U.S. has taken unfair advantage of its control over the Internet to launch an "invisible war" against its enemies, and to intimidate and threaten other countries.

The article cites as an example how, during the Iraq war, the U.S. government in 2003 asked ICANN to terminate all services related to Iraq’s TLD “.IQ” leading to all websites linked to such domain names disappearing overnight.

The article also points out that 10 of the Internet's 13 root zone servers are located within the U.S., allowing the federal government to "supervise the Internet for national security reasons" under U.S. laws.

By doing so, however, China argues, the U.S. federal government actually gains access to all information transmitted online while "other countries can do nothing about it."

As a "big country on the Internet," China says that it "opposes the U.S.' unreasonable and unilateral management of the Internet" and seeks to work with the international community to "build a new Internet governance system."

Insane Clown Posse: Branding Geniuses or Violent Gang Subculture?

ICP Fans, image from InsaneClownPosse.com website

From both a musical and branding perspective, the Insane Clown Posse (often dubbed "ICP") are a bizarre phenomenon.

The ICP is a rap duo composed of Joseph Bruce and Joseph Utsler, who perform under the respective personas of the "wicked clowns" Violent J and Shaggy 2 Dope.

The duo performs a style of hardcore hip hop known as horrorcore known for its elaborate live performances.  The duo has earned two platinum and five gold albums.

ICP may be counter-cultural, but they are very brand-conscious, and have developed an incredibly dedicated following of fans surrounding their musical genre.  They are no strangers to successful merchandising, either.

Logo on Tote Bag ($10 on ICP website)

For example, the band adopted the "FAYGO" brand soft drink, by referencing the relatively unknown Detroit-based soda brand in several songs.  The group's fans are widely credited with supporting the company.

ICP's hardcore fans, dubbed "Juggalos," are such a dedicated and cohesive subculture that the FBI recently categorized them as organized criminals.

The FBI's 2011 National Gang Threat Assessment report identified Juggalos as a "hybrid gang" akin to violent groups like the Crips and Bloods.

But ICP is now fighting back for its beleaguered fans, by filing a civil lawsuit against the FBI for unlawful discrimination.

The lawsuit seeks to stop the FBI from "violat[ing] the rights of Juggalos on the mistaken belief that they are 'gang members,'" according to a statement posted on a new website, JuggalosFightBack.com.

Being labeled a "gang member" can result in much harsher penalties for certain crimes, according to the Justice Department’s National Gang Center.

To fight back, the Insane Clown Posse’s new website is offering a free legal review to any ICP fan who may have been profiled or harassed.  Fans can fill out a form online, for potential inclusion in the lawsuit.

“We’re not attacking the FBI, but they got this wrong,” Bruce said in a statement. “The Juggalos are not a gang, and that needs to be fixed."

The lawsuit is “probably the biggest announcement of our career,” the duo said via Twitter.  “Yes we’re nervious [sic].”

It seems that even wicked clowns are scared of litigation.