 We are pleased to announce we experienced such tremendous growth over the past year, we have moved to a new office with much more room to grow! As of today, you will find us in our new office located at 400 Poydras Street, Suite 1400.
 IPC attorney Ian C. Barras successfully represented Buddy Good, LLC before the U.S. Trademark Trial and Appeal Board in an opposition brought by Monster Energy Company. Monster filed its opposition in an attempt to prevent the registration of Buddy Good’s Monster Creole Seasoning® mark. Monster Creole Seasoning® is an original spice blend created in 1999 in New Orleans with a proprietary blend of spices crafted to appeal to those who enjoy flavorful food – the spice mix claims it, "Tastes so good it's scary!" IPC was able to negotiate an amicable resolution to the dispute resulting in Monster dismissing its opposition, and Buddy Good’s Monster Creole Seasoning® mark is now registered with the United States Patent and Trademark Office. IPC attorneys regularly assist clients with complex trademark issues.
 IPC represented the McCue Family Trust in a patent infringement suit against Adidas. The lawsuit was based on the claim that Adidas’ new 4D midsole design infringes U.S. Pat. No. 9,271,542, titled “Apparatus for Damping an Applied Force” and originally filed by inventor Geoff McCue.
The McCue Family Trust filed its suit in the US District Court for the District of Middle Louisiana against Adidas for patent infringement, alleging that Adidas used McCue’s patented shock-absorbing technology in its Futurecraft 4D shoe without permission. The parties were able to amicably resolve the dispute. IPC attorneys routinely represent inventors in enforcing their patent rights against entities large and small. IPC Attorney Leads CLE Workshop on Katy Perry’s “Dark Horse” Copyright Infringement Ruling1/16/2020
 This past summer, a jury decided that Katy Perry’s chart-topping song, “Dark Horse,” had infringed upon the copyright of a rap track titled, “Joyful Noise,” a song that had been previously released by rapper, Flame. Mark Melasky, legal consultant with IPC, recently led a CLE workshop for the Solo and Small Firm Section of the Louisiana State Bar Association on the subject, “The Dark Horse of Copyright Infringement: Did the Court Get it Right with Katy Perry’s Lawsuit?”
Melasky co-presented with Abid Hussain, attorney at Hussain Law LLC and adjunct professor of digital music production at University of New Orleans. After the “Blurred Lines” ruling in favor of Marvin Gaye’s estate, the ruling in the Katy Perry case shows the ongoing trend of relaxing a plaintiff’s burden for proving originality in infringement cases. If you have an issue related to copyright infringement, contact our legal professionals.
Congratulations to our client, Tulane University, for scoring in multiple Top 20 rankings in the annual "College Rankings" lists just released by The Princeton Review!
#1 Most Engaged in Community Service #2 Their Students Love These Colleges #3 College City Gets High Marks #4 Happiest Students #6 Best Quality of Life #9 Best-Run Colleges #13 Impact Schools “Tulane University, located in the heart of New Orleans, is an institution where 'academics are rigorous,'" according to The Princeton Review, and which "encourages exploration, trying new things … and learning from people who are different from you.” Read more about the "College Rankings" here. IPC's client, Edge-Works, was recently sued again by HSG, LLC (“High Speed Gear”) in the Eastern District of North Carolina where HSG brought federal false advertising claims against Edge-Works, alleging Edge-Works falsely advertised the material used in its Softshell Scorpion magazine carriers. Without having to conduct any discovery, Edge-Works successfully dismissed all of HSG’s claims at the earliest stages of litigation on the basis that HSG’s claims were barred by Res Judicata.
 The Patent Pro Bono Program is a nationwide network of independent regional programs that match volunteer patent professionals, like our own Mark Melasky, with financially under-resourced inventors and small businesses for the purpose of securing patent protection. Registered patent practitioners like Melasky are critical to the success of the Patent Pro Bono Program.
Melasky was invited to attend the recent Patent Pro Bono Program Conference hosted by the United States Patent and Trademark Office as part of his role as Steering Committee Chair for the Louisiana Program. He will play a key part in helping The Ella Project, a Louisiana program providing pro bono legal assistance, arts business services and advocacy to the local cultural community, in launching and administering the Louisiana Patent Pro Bono Program. Melasky was joined at the conference by administrators from other regional programs across the nation at USPTO headquarters to discuss best practices in order to enhance and improve the effectiveness of the program. |
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