Visual showing Lululemon vs. Costco IP lawsuit with COMPASS and rdAI logos, referencing trade dress, design patents, and trademark infringement
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Lululemon vs. Costco: Law Suit Over “Dupes,” Design Patent, and IP Integrity

ByPiAdmin

The Spandex War. Lululemon Athletica has filed a high-profile intellectual property lawsuit against Costco Wholesale Corporation, claiming that the retail giant’s Kirkland Signature line and other in-store apparel offerings include “knockoffs” or “dupes” of Lululemon’s signature designs. This case pits a premium athletic wear innovator against a cost-conscious retailer—and could shape the future of fashion-focused IP enforcement. Spandex War: Trade Dress, Design Patents, and Trademarks in Focus You might think of this as the Spandex…

The Weed-n-Seed IP Trap
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The Weed-n-Seed IP Trap: GMO Agriculture and the Lock-In Business Model

ByElmer Hall

By Dr. Elmer HallAuthor of Patent Primer 5 and Perpetual Sustainability Introduction: The GMO Patent Trap Hiding in Plain Sight Monsanto’s “weed-n-seed” strategy may be the most profitable and dangerous GMO patent trap ever deployed in global agriculture. This business model doesn’t just involve selling genetically modified seeds—it binds farmers into an escalating cycle of seed contracts, herbicide dependence, and legal control. The result? A systemic agricultural lock-in that’s reshaping how food is grown—and who…

Roundup Syndrome Glyphosate, GMO, and the Vicious Degradation Spiral
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Roundup Syndrome: Glyphosate, GMO, and the Vicious Degradation Spiral

BySustainMe

By Dr. Elmer HallAuthor of Perpetual Sustainability and Patent Primer 5 A Global Experiment Without Consent Roundup® has become one of the most controversial agrochemical products in modern history. Marketed as a simple weed killer based on glyphosate, it is in fact a potent chemical cocktail applied globally to genetically modified (GMO) crops. This system—glyphosate plus surfactants and sticking agents—has infiltrated our food supply, water systems, and soil health with little public awareness and even…

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Future of IP + AI? Regenerative AI

ByBizMan

These are the GenAI prompts used to gather information about intellectual property (IP) and the world of artificial intelligence (AI), i.e., IP+AI.  This is part of our Regenerative AI project; recreate as needed, when needed, with the GenAI engines available to you at that time. Select results from various Generative AI engines (ChatGPT 4.0, Gemini, Claude, Copilot).  Look at writing and analysis of Human + Artificial Intelligence by Hall and (Hall & Lentz, 2024) over…

Mickey Mouse Enters to Public Domain

ByBizMan

The first trademarks by Walt Disney run out of copyright protection starting in 2024. This would have happened 20 years earlier had it not been for the “Mickey Mouse Protection Act of 1998” (as discussed here). For corporations, copyright lasts for 95 years from first release. (For individual creators/authors, copyright lasts for 70 years after the last author dies.) Associated Press has a discussion about this: Mickey Mouse will soon belong to you and me…

The Mickey Mouse Protection Act

The Mickey Mouse Protection Act

ByBizMan

When you hear The Mickey Mouse Protection act, you are probably thinking about how to keep the mouse’s tail out from under the heavy boots of the Florida State Governor. But the Law that is informally called the Mickey Mouse Protection Act of 1995 extended copyright protection for an additional 20 years, giving Disney until November 2024 before the first copyrights on Mickey Mouse begin to roll off copyright protection.  This means that by Christmas…