This week, the Supreme Court ruled 6-3 that damages in copyright cases can, in the right circumstances, go back further than three years. The claim needs to be timely made, and then the damages can go back further than the normal 3-year statute of limitations. As expected, TikTok’s owner sued the government over the “foreign…
Author: Kevin A. Thompson
Kevin A. Thompson practices primarily in the area of domestic and international trademarks, copyrights and internet law issues. He is experienced with prosecuting international applications under the Madrid Protocol. Kevin counsels clients in the selection, clearance, and maintenance of trademarks. He advises them with respect to enforcement of rights, and assists in representing them in disputes around the world to protect their valuable intellectual property.
Kevin received his law degree from DePaul University College of Law in 1998 with Honors and Order of the Coif. Kevin received his B.A. from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 1993. He is on the Board of Managers for the Intellectual Property Law Association of Chicago, having served in the past as the chair of its Internet Law Committee, and is also past chair of the Chicago Bar Association’s Computer Law Committee.
Links for Week of May 3, 2024
May I be the first to say for tomorrow, May the 4th Be With You! (Seriously, though, it was a fun little joke which got commercialized.) This week, I liked an article by Daly Barnett on the current state of digital threats to reproductive rights. The UK implemented a law banning default passwords on smart…
Links for Week of April 26, 2024
This week, the US signed into law a ban on ByteDance owning TikTok as part of an appropriations bill; the company has 270 days to sell off TikTok or lose access to the US market. Edward Zitron published an interesting article, looking through emails produced during the antitrust case, explaining what went wrong behind the…
Links for Week of April 19, 2024
This week, the Copyright Office granted a registration to a work generated by AI – but limited to the “selection, coordination, and arrangement of text generated by artificial intelligence.” This is in line with prior decisions requiring a human author, as the registration is limited to what the human author contributed. Also, I liked Evan…
Links for Week of April 12, 2024
This week, a surprise announcement of a bipartisan federal data privacy bill was quite interesting. Many prior efforts have gone by the wayside. The movie industry is again asking for new legislation to block websites dealing in pirated movies. Finally, I liked Professor Guadamuz’s essay on the end of online mobs. American Privacy Rights Act…
Links for Week of April 5, 2024
This week, I liked a post at Today’s General Counsel about preparing clients for upcoming copyright litigation over AI. I thought it was good advice for anyone to look at their copyright holdings and try to assess how vulnerable these assets are. Speaking of copyright, I liked Mike Masnick’s post about forgotten books. I also…
Links for Week of March 29, 2024
This week, I liked a post by Bruce Schneier, pointing out a Yale Law Review article on professional licensing for AI Engineers. Professor Eric Goldman linked to his essay that compares the “due process” approaches in the DMCA and the DMA. Finally, I liked a post at CircleID by Pari Esfandiari on the subject of…
Links for Week of March 22, 2024
This week, there is some interesting commentary on the Supreme Court’s rulings in two cases involving when it is OK for government officials to block comments on their social media pages. The standard is not well defined, though. I also liked Bruce Schneier’s essay written with Nathan Sanders on AI and the Evolution of Social…
Links for Week of March 15, 2024
This week, I liked Professor Guadamuz’s take on the EU AI Act and Copyright. Further. security expert Bruce Schneier linked to an interesting proof of concept of using AI LLM’s to unredact text. On March 21st, I’ll be speaking to the DuPage County Bar Association’s Business Law Committee on the subject of “IP And IT…
Links for Week of March 8, 2024
This week, Professor Goldman’s essay “Assuming Good Faith Online” was published. I also liked several articles explaining the EU’s AI Act and what compliance may entail. On March 21st, I’ll be speaking to the DuPage County Bar Association’s Business Law Committee on the subject of “IP And IT Due Diligence In M&A Transactions.” To learn…