subject: Five Famous Intellectual Property Disputes [print this page] It is fair to say that IPDs do not sound like the most interesting or entertaining things in the world. In fact the world of law comes across as a very serious one, one that those who have not had the appropriate training should not pay any attention to. However if you think about it, disputes over things that have been thought up by some of the brightest and most famous minds in the world must be worth a look. Here are the top five:
Mattel Inc. v. MGA Entertainment Inc. This law suit concerns the most famous girls play thing of all, Barbie, and the new pretenders the Bratz. In 2005 the makers of the Bratz dolls made the bold move of suing Mattel because they claimed that the my scene range of Barbie copied the large headed style of the Bratz dolls. Mattel responded by saying that designer Carter Bryant drew up the doll while working for Mattel before Bratz hit the scene in 2001. MGA were forced by the courts to pay Mattel $100 million and the dolls were taken off the shelves for about a year. The dispute is far from over today.
S. Victor Whitmill v. Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. In the film The Hangover Part II one of the characters wakes up in Bangkok to find a rather Mike Tyson-esque tattoo on his face. The problem was the man that designed the tattoo, Mr. Victor Whimill, was not happy and claimed that it was copyright infringement. The courts denied and injunction but claimed Whimill still had a case. The dispute was settled out of court.
Campbell v. Acuff-Rose Music, Inc. This case came about when a band named 2 Live Crew decided to record a parody version of Roy Orbisons Oh, pretty woman they sent a copy of the recording to the label that owned the copyright and asked for permission to use it on their album. Permission was refused but the group decided to use it on the album anyway. In court the judge told Acuff-Rose Music to lighten up.
A&M Records, Inc. v. Napster Inc. In 1999 the illegal downloading of music was born thanks to 18 year old Shaun Fanning who created Napster. Unfortunately for Shaun three years later the site was shut down thanks to proceedings from A&M Records.
Isaac Newton v. Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz going back to the 1600s with this one. One of the biggest science debates of all time about which one of these great minds invented calculus or science of fluxions as Newton first called it. Unfortunately Leibniz died before the dispute could be settled.It is fair to say that IPDs do not sound like the most interesting or entertaining things in the world. In fact the world of law comes across as a very serious one, one that those who have not had the appropriate training should not pay any attention to. However if you think about it, disputes over things that have been thought up by some of the brightest and most famous minds in the world must be worth a look. Here are the top five:
Mattel Inc. v. MGA Entertainment Inc. This law suit concerns the most famous girls play thing of all, Barbie, and the new pretenders the Bratz. In 2005 the makers of the Bratz dolls made the bold move of suing Mattel because they claimed that the my scene range of Barbie copied the large headed style of the Bratz dolls. Mattel responded by saying that designer Carter Bryant drew up the doll while working for Mattel before Bratz hit the scene in 2001. MGA were forced by the courts to pay Mattel $100 million and the dolls were taken off the shelves for about a year. The dispute is far from over today.
S. Victor Whitmill v. Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. In the film The Hangover Part II one of the characters wakes up in Bangkok to find a rather Mike Tyson-esque tattoo on his face. The problem was the man that designed the tattoo, Mr. Victor Whimill, was not happy and claimed that it was copyright infringement. The courts denied and injunction but claimed Whimill still had a case. The dispute was settled out of court.
Campbell v. Acuff-Rose Music, Inc. This case came about when a band named 2 Live Crew decided to record a parody version of Roy Orbisons Oh, pretty woman they sent a copy of the recording to the label that owned the copyright and asked for permission to use it on their album. Permission was refused but the group decided to use it on the album anyway. In court the judge told Acuff-Rose Music to lighten up.
A&M Records, Inc. v. Napster Inc. In 1999 the illegal downloading of music was born thanks to 18 year old Shaun Fanning who created Napster. Unfortunately for Shaun three years later the site was shut down thanks to proceedings from A&M Records.
Isaac Newton v. Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz going back to the 1600s with this one. One of the biggest science debates of all time about which one of these great minds invented calculus or science of fluxions as Newton first called it. Unfortunately Leibniz died before the dispute could be settled.
