intellectual property

cybersquatting

Cybersquatting occurs when a person other than the owner of a well-known trademark registers that trademark as an Internet domain name and then attempts to profit from it either by ransoming the domain name back to the trademark owner or by...

database

A database is a compilation of information arranged and stored systematically to facilitate access and retrieval. Today, databases exist most commonly in electronic form. In Myspace, Inc. v. Graphon Corp., a court in California defined...

derivative

Derivative is a financial instrument whose value depends on the market value of some underlying asset. The parties to a derivative contract essentially make a bet on the value of the underlying asset. Depending on the change in value for the...

derivative work

Derivative work refers to a copyrighted work that comes from another copyrighted work. Copyrights allow their owners to decide how their works can be used, including creating new derivative works off of the original product. Derivative works...

descriptive

The nature of a statement that claims to describe reality. A descriptive theory is one that claims to describe how things really are, as opposed to how they should be. See also: prescriptive (contrast).

Descriptive, in law,...

descriptive mark

Descriptive marks consist of words that are indicative of the characteristics or qualities related to the goods or services associated with the mark. Unlike suggestive marks which require the consumer to use reasoning to understand the mark’s...

design patent

A design patent, unlike a utility patent, limits the investor’s patent protection to the ornamental design of the article. Per 35 U.S.C. § 171, “[w]hoever invents any new, original and ornamental design for an article of manufacture may obtain a...

Digital Millennium Copyright Act

Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA), is a federal statute that addresses a number of copyright issues created by the use of new technology and the Internet including digital rights management (methods for stopping infringement), and...

dilution

In law, dilution refers to the use of a mark or trade name in commerce that is sufficiently similar to a famous mark that by association it confuses or diminishes the public's perception of the famous mark. For example, an appliance company...

dilution (trademark)

In law, dilution refers to the use of a trademark or trade name in commerce that is sufficiently similar to a famous mark that by association it confuses or diminishes the public's perception of the famous mark. For example, an appliance...

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