BY OLIVER HERZFELD, FORBES IP COUNSEL, DECEMBER 4, 2012 - Virtual goods are intangible objects in online games and communities. Examples include everything from weapons and potions in multiplayer online role-playing games to seeds and cows in online social farming games. Virtual items have value, and are purchased and sold by game players for real money in the real world. Although the current annual U.S. market for trade in virtual goods is estimated in the billions of dollars, and sales are expected to continue to grow at a rapid pace, the legal status of such goods remains completely uncertain. Four possibilities of the status of virtual goods include no legal significance, personal property, services and intellectual property. I will consider each in turn.
Read MoreBY OLIVER HERZFELD, FORBES IP COUNSEL, NOVEMBER 20, 2012 - In general, publishers of books, newspapers and magazines are legally liable for the content of the materials they publish, while book stores, newsstands and other distributors of publications are immune from liability for such content. The rationale behind the legal principle is that publishers can research, review and edit the content they publish whereas distributors often cannot easily do so for the content they distribute. With the advent of the Internet, however, the line between publisher and distributor became blurred. For example, if a company encourages users to submit content to its website, comments to its Facebook page or videos to its YouTube channel, is it deemed to be a publisher or a distributor? Early court decisions in this area arrived at unintuitive results. In particular, a company that made no effort to filter defamatory content submitted by its users was held to be an immune distributor, but another company that actively filtered and edited defamatory content in good faith was held liable as a publisher for failing to screen and remove all such unlawful content.
Read MoreBY OLIVER HERZFELD, FORBES IP COUNSEL, OCTOBER 24, 2012 - Sony Computer Entertainment has featured the fictional character “Kevin Butler” portraying a Sony employee in a series of advertisements for its PlayStation 3 game system. Sony recently filed a complaint against Bridgestone Tires over an advertisement featuring the same actor, allegedly portraying Kevin Butler as a Bridgestone employee, using and speaking excitedly about the competing Nintendo Wii game system. The case provides a good opportunity to review the laws relating to the protection of fictional characters which implicate unauthorized sequels and adaptations of existing works, the popular and widespread subculture of fan fiction, and many other applications.
Read MoreBY OLIVER HERZFELD, FORBES IP COUNSEL, OCTOBER 24, 2012 - In Hannibal Saldibar v. A.O. Smith Corp., the court recently denied post-trial motions filed by Tile Council of America, a licensor trade association, essentially holding it liable in connection with a death caused by licensed products that Tile Council neither manufactured nor sold. Tile Council’s liability was predicated on its detailed specifications governing all aspects of certain asbestos-containing products. The case presents an excellent opportunity to review the laws of trademark licensor liability for injuries caused by licensed products.
Read MoreBY OLIVER HERZFELD, FORBES LEGAL CORNER, OCTOBER 11 2012 - Beanstalk Chief Legal Office, Oliver Herzfeld, addresses the long running dispute between the University of Alabama and the artist Daniel Moore in his recent Forbes post.
Read MoreBY MICHAEL STONE, FORBES CMO NETWORK, OCTOBER 8, 2012 - On the heels of a very unsuccessful 2011 fall TV lineup, television networks are hoping this year’s newly commissioned primetime starters can simply move beyond their pilot episodes and inaugural seasons. However, those producers with grander aspirations seek more than a contract renewal for a second season. In his latest article, Michael Stone reviews what
Read MoreBY MICHAEL STONE, FORBES, SEPTEMBER 24, 2012 -In his latest Forbes column, Michael Stone offers expert insight into the ability of popular entertainment apps to transition into merchandising, but retailers are hesitant to fully warm up to these digital properties.
Read MoreFORBES, JANUARY 4, 2012 - Retailers’ relationships with celebrities have blossomed from fling into full-blown love affair in recent years, as major department stores and mass retailers have secured exclusive celebrity lines as a means of differentiating themselves from competitors and attracting consumers. This article is by Michael Stone, CEO of Beanstalk featured on Forbes.com CMO Network
Read MoreOne of the most photographed women in the world, Paris Hilton has parlayed her party-girl persona and tabloid fame into a merchandise and licensing empire. Now, at 30, her image of carefree heiress -- a celebutante who is famous for just being famous -- belies the fact that Hilton has become a lucrative global brand.
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