Real Counterfeits of Virtual Swords

Square Enix, the company behind the Final Fantasy computer games, movies and other media has a novel intellectual property issue. Someone is importing copies of its swords. Keep in mind that prior to being knocked off, these swords existed only as virtual swords to be wielded in video games.

According to this article, Square Enix has sued four retailers and is working with Customs and Border Protection to seize imports.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Mitigating 232 Penalties - I'm Back

Image
I realize I have been gone for a while. The first Trump Administration generated enough compliance work, litigation, and general chaos to keep me too busy and too stressed to do many things. One such thing was writing this blog. I did it mainly because I enjoy the process, and it forced me to stay on top of cases from the Court of International Trade and Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. Explaining those decisions in what I intend to be an approachable style helped me understand them. Over the past year, I have at times considered restarting the blog and never found the time or inspiration. Apparently, that has changed.  You may have noticed that the second Trump administration is off to a fast start in the trade space. We have new 10% tariffs on goods from China and 25% tariffs on an expanded list of steel and aluminum products. The 232 exclusion process has been shuttered. Reciprocal tariffs are being floated, as are potential tariffs on cars, pharmaceuticals, and chips....
Read more

eWriters and Protests

Image
When I saw that the Court of International Trade decision in Kent Displays  involves the classification of "a battery powered flexible eWriter device containing a pressure sensitive liquid crystal writing film," I had a moment of technology-geek excitement. That feeling stemmed from my personal conversion from yellow legal pads to a reMarkable "paper tablet." Before I wax on in an ode to the reMarkable, let's deal with this case. Kent Displays imported a product called the Dashboard, which it describes as a green replacement for paper. The device is based on a "bistable cholesteric reflective LCD."  This review is of a different product from Kent Displays, but probably gives a good idea of how the Dashboard works. Here is an image from Kent Displays of its Blackboard Smart Pen Reusable Notebook.  Kent had been importing this product under HTSUS item 9013.80.7000, which at the time of entry covered: Liquid crystal devices not constituting articles pro...
Read more

Crikey and Zut Alors, What is a Diary?

Image
For more than 20 years, I have had the privilege of organizing the Dominick L. DiCarlo – US Court of International Trade Lecture at the University of Illinois – Chicago Law School (FKA the John Marshall Law School). One of the great pleasures of this experience has been working with Court of International Trade judges who have graciously participated as keynote speakers. Last week, we presented the 22 nd edition during which I had the opportunity to interview the Honorable Jane A. Restani. In a discussion on the interpretation of the Harmonized Tariff Schedule, Judge Restani mentioned her recent decision in Blue Sky the Color of Imagination, LLC v. United States and asked whether I would post on the decision here. I had recently exchanged emails about the case and mistakenly thought I had already posted this. To ensure that I have not misled a judge or the audience at the event, here is that post. The question presented in this case was the classification of paper notebooks that ...
Read more