If the Naked Cowboy files a suit, is it a birthday suit?

There's never been a doubt in my mind that Times Square entertainer the Naked Cowboy (who, despite his name, is about as racy as a pro wrestler) is a genius of self-promotion, a creative entrepreneur, and can probably do a bunch of sit-ups.

According to this piece in Business Week, I can now see that he is also a savvy protector of his brand.

The article reports that Robert John Burck, the man behind the persona, is suing one Sandra Brodsky for trademark infringement. Burck claims that Brodsky, who has been performing in Times Square as the Naked Cowgirl (also not actually naked), has copied his costume, his act, and his name in a manner that is likely to cause confusion.

Burck has filed a case in a Federal Court in Manhattan. Access to Federal Courts is, by the way, one of the advantages of registering a mark with the USPTO. (His mark is registered; look up serial number 77781761 in TESS.) Perhaps other street performers should take note.

Trademark Expo at the USPTO

T. Markey himself is inviting you to visit the USPTO campus for the 2010 Trademark Expo. This event offers companies with interesting, significant, or really old trademarks to come and show off their marks and to network with other IP professionals. Costumes are, I believe, optional; I've been in DC in the late summer and I would recommend designing some mesh vents into a costume if you're going to go that route.

This looks like a fun event and a great networking opportunity!

Sheet music and copyright discussion

David Pogue's online column at the NY Times has brought to my attention an interesting discussion that happened between Broadway composer Jason Robert Brown and a member of an online community that trades sheet music. (Trading in this context has the same meaning as "sharing" in the online recorded music community.)

The story goes like this: Brown decided to join an online sheet music community and send messages to people offering his sheet music to other members asking them to stop offering his songs. He reports that most of the people he contacted complied. One member, named Eleanor, engaged him in an interesting debate about his actions. Here's the post from his blog with a reproduction of the conversation.

This is a good discussion of the moral issues (objectively, I think that Eleanor is breaking the law) surrounding copyright infringement. Any thoughts?

Supreme Court ruling on business methods a resounding "well, maybe..."

The US Supreme Court ended a busy session Monday by releasing significant rulings on gun control, first amendment rights, corporate accounting oversight, and...patents!

Bilski made its way to the Supreme Court during this session. The Court, which heard the case in November, took a middle path in its ruling, agreeing with a lower court's decision that the Bilski patent application was too abstract to be patented but stopping short of an outright end to business method patents.

So, it looks like folks will be duking this issue out in the courts for years to come.