Patents, Trademarks & Copyright
Evidence for the case
• Queen - Under Pressure 1982 – YouTube
• Vanilla Ice Ice Ice Baby
• Vanilla Ice denies Queen rip off
• What happened in the end (scroll down)
should Queen sue Vanilla Ice?
Reasons For
Reasons Against
Overall decision (included damages and/or percentage or revenue)
should Queen sue Vanilla Ice?
Reasons For
Reasons Against
Overall decision (included damages and/or percentage or revenue)
Evidence for the case
• Marvin Gaye - Got to give it up
• Robin Thicke - Blurred Lines
• Celebrity News Report - Marvin Gaye Junior to
sue Robin Thicke
• The Independent - Thicke accused of plagiarism
Marvin Gaye’s family should sue Robin Thicke?
Reasons For
Reasons Against
Overall decision (included damages and/or percentage or revenue)
Evidence for the case
While preparing to film a movie entitled A Night in
Casablanca, the Marx brothers received a letter from
Warner Bros. threatening legal action if they did not change
the film’s title. Warner Bros. deemed the film’s title too
similar to their own Casablanca, released almost five years
earlier in 1942, with Humphrey Bogart and Ingrid Bergman.
Groucho's full letter to Warner Bros
See Exhibit A for Groucho Marx’s edited letter to the Warner
Bros lawyers.
should Groucho be allowed to use the name “A night in Casablanca”?
Reasons For
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Overall decision (included damages and/or percentage or revenue)
Evidence for the case
MGM studios, the producers of the 007
franchise forced the owners of a refrigeration
company to change its name.
Mail Online News Article
should 007 refrigeration be forced to change their name?
Reasons For
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Overall decision (included damages and/or percentage or revenue)
Evidence for the case
Since 2008, Cadbury have been in a court battle with a rival as they feel noone else should use “their” colour purple.
Earlier this year luxury shoemaker Christian Louboutin took YSL to court over
a red high-heel shoe that had a red sole, synonymous with its own shoes.
A judge ruled YSL, and others, could not sell shoes with red soles unless the
shoe itself was red. Harrods unsuccessfully fought to patent olive green
and gold, while EasyGroup agreed with Orange to put a disclaimer on its
orange mobile publicity.
Cadbury’s legal fight over the colour purple
Should Nestle be allowed to use the colour purple?
Reasons For
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Overall decision (included damages and/or percentage or revenue)
Evidence for the case
• Apple paid $1bn in damages
• Wozniak "hates" patent dispute
Reasons For
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Overall decision (included damages and/or percentage or revenue)
Evidence for the case
should OFC change their name and logo?
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Overall decision (included damages and/or percentage or revenue)
In which situations should patents, copyrights and trademarks be enforced?
Justify you answer.
Reasons For
Overall decision
Reasons Against