Jackson’s invention
On the Discovery Channel’s blog, Tracy Staedter examined one aspect of his legacy that not many fans knew about – a US patent.
The patent was filed in 1992 for anti-gravity shoes used in Jackson’s stage performances and the blog shows a clip of the shoes in action. “A genius musician and this idea shows that his intelligence and creativity went beyond music,” says Staedter.
Meanwhile, new IPKat contributor Annsley Merelle Ward (aka AmeriKat) points out that Jackson’s ownership of an interest in ATV Publishing (which owns the rights to 251 Beatles songs) as well as his own back catalogue will be “preoccupying numerous lawyers” handling his estate. She also wonders whether royalties from the increase in sales of his work since his death will help offset the $400 million of debts he left behind.
The fate of Jackson’s estate is also discussed by Tamera H Bennett on the IP and Entertainment Law blog.
Bennett notes that there was a long dispute over James Brown’s estate and says of Jackson: “If the bulk of the assets are in trust, then the public may never know the extent of his estate.”
Saving money on trade marks
While Jackson’s death dominated the news this week, there is still no escape from reflections on the poor state of the global economy.
On the China Law Blog, Dan Harris looks at the trend for companies trying to save money in the economic crisis to do their own US trade mark work and the problems that this can create when these companies try to do business in China.
When asked by one client how a trade mark could be registered in China “cheaply” Harris responded that, as in the US, the cheapest way is to do it correctly.
This clearly struck a nerve with blogger China Hearsay, who has developed a zero tolerance policy towards clients trying to save money by cutting down on trade mark filing while not cutting down on the lavish expat lifestyle he sees in Beijing.
Meanwhile, in Australia, Nick Weston breaks down a recent trade mark dispute between Mars and a local company over whether Malt Balls are deceptively similar to Maltesers.
Holiday reading
Back in the northern hemisphere, TTABlogger John L Welch provides some tips for summer holiday reading: Jordan Weinstein’s annual review of TTAB and CAFC decisions and a “timely and informative” article by Sandra Edelman on bona fide intent in the Trademark Reporter.
