News
Cases and rule changes, explained for the people they affect.
Now and then we write an update when something happens that a founder, creator, or inventor should know about.
October 22, 2025
After Romag: the new reality of trademark law, and why clearance searches are the smartest money you’ll spend
Since Romag, you don’t have to infringe on purpose to lose your profits. A documented clearance search is the good-faith evidence that matters.
March 25, 2023
Cheers to creativity: the Supreme Court and Jack Daniel’s iconic label
A dog toy, a parody defense, and why a well-known label gets the protection it does.
March 25, 2023
Cohiba vs. Cohiba: a battle of trademarks at the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board
Sixty years of the same mark on two sides of an embargo, and what the Board’s decision says about registering and protecting a mark in the United States.
June 20, 2022
Copyrights in the metaverse: does AI qualify as an author under U.S. copyright law?
Stephen Thaler sued the Copyright Office over a work his AI generated. The question of who counts as an author is not going away.
March 30, 2020
Newly expanded SBA loans available under the CARES Act
The Paycheck Protection Program and Economic Injury Disaster Loans, explained for small employers: eligibility, forgiveness, and how to apply.
March 30, 2020
The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act)
A section-by-section overview of the $2.5 trillion relief package: small business loans, unemployment expansion, stimulus payments, and tax changes.
August 15, 2019
Gugliotta & Gugliotta announces trademark monitoring services
Two annual watch subscriptions to help clients police their marks before infringement erodes them.
August 15, 2019
Gugliotta & Gugliotta announces comprehensive trademark clearance search packages
Tiered search options, from federal-only to a full comprehensive search across the USPTO, all fifty states, and common-law sources.
August 14, 2019
How far do trademark protections extend? We’re about to find out.
Ohio State filed to register the word THE for clothing. Whether a bare article can acquire secondary meaning is now the examining attorney’s problem.
January 15, 2019
Foreign trademark applicants will soon require U.S. attorneys
The USPTO proposed requiring foreign-domiciled applicants to use licensed U.S. counsel, aimed at a wave of subsidized and often fraudulent filings.
March 15, 2018
Sharing photos on Twitter is copyright infringement: a new interpretation of the “server test”
A federal judge held that embedding a tweet containing a copyrighted photo can infringe, breaking with a decade of practice built on the server rule.
March 8, 2018
A small claims copyright tribunal: one small step for art, one giant step for artists?
The CASE Act would create a Copyright Claims Board so independent creators can enforce their rights without a $270,000 lawsuit.
March 5, 2018
How Star Wars could fundamentally rewrite copyright law
Disney sued Redbox for reselling digital download codes. A federal judge said Disney’s tying of disc and code was copyright misuse.