Browsing: intellectual property

News
Double trouble for Powershop Darth Vader campaign
By

Powershop Australia has been forced to pull a billboard campaign, featuring a power socket as Darth Vader, due to a complaint from LucasFilm. This is the second time Powershop has used the Dark Lord’s image in vain – in 2011 they also pulled an ad referencing Darth Vader after copyright scares.

News
DDB launches innovation lab; but are ad agencies any good at developing new products?
By

Following on from its Australian branch, DDB New Zealand has now also launched an in-house innovation lab called Shaper. Established with the bold goal to “solve real human problems and create new revenue streams”, the new addition to the DDB offering will aim to “own and monetise ideas developed in the lab”. In a release, DDB’s chief operating officer Chris Riley says that the creative skills available at the agency provide the potential of delivering more than just advertising. PLUS: find out why author Leif Abraham thinks ad agencies struggle to innovate.

Opinion
Social media: check yourself before you wreck yourself

The use of social media as a business tool is becoming the norm rather than the exception. Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn are just some of the websites used to promote businesses and products, as well as being excellent tools for interacting directly with customers and associates. But there can be risks associated with publishing too much information online, particularly in relation to your intellectual property. So what steps can you take to ensure that you are getting the best exposure possible without jeopardising it?

News
Microsoft to pay US$290m to i4i?
By

Last week, a US federal appeals court heard the case of i4i vs. Microsoft following the August 11 Texas court ruling that ordered Microsoft to pay US$290m to i4i for infringement of i4i’s patent of an XML tag editor.

A simple version of the backstory can be read …