Way more than an everyday interest in IP
In a win for funk and a loss for free barking, the singer George Clinton has won a copyright infringement claim and appeal in the US against Universal Music Group (“UMG”) over the use of Clinton’s lyrics “Bow wow wow, yippie yo, yippie yea” (known within “hip” judicial circles as the “Bow Wow Refrain”) in the song “D.O.G in Me” released by hip hop group Pub read more...
Earlier this month I commented on the copyright dispute between Men at Work and Larrikin Music about an allegedly stolen flute riff. The big question before the Court is whether ‘Down Under’, the famous Men at Work song, contains a substantial part of the classic Australian song ‘Kookaburra Sits in the Old Gum Tree’ (written in the 1930s by Marion Sinclair).
read more...“Where women glow and men plunder…” are some of the iconic lyrics of Men At Work’s hallowed song ‘Down Under’. Down Under was a number one hit in the US, UK and Australia and is practically a secondary national anthem for Australians abroad. However, speaking of plundering, this classic song may in fact include a ‘substantial part’ of another Australian song.
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The European Court of Justice (ECJ) has been invited to consider the use of competitors' trade marks in search engine keyword advertising. The case raises a number of issues in trade mark and community law, and could have significant implications for Google's AdWord policy and future search engine trade mark disputes in Australia.
Background
read more...On 22 April 2009 the High Court delivered its decision in Ice TV Pty Ltd v Nine Network Australia Pty Ltd. read more...
Mallesons’ Melbourne Intellectual Property team recently acted for Telstra in its successful application to intervene in the High Court appeal between Channel 9 and Ice TV. As an articled clerk in the Intellectual Property team, I attended court (sitting in Canberra) and assisted with Telstra’s preparation (for all the fun and excitement that was had, click here and here.
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