Intellectual Property Insights from Fishman Stewart
Mini Article – Volume 24, Issue 11
Share on Social
Inclusiveness Invigorates Innovation
By Anthony Gartrelle
June is Pride Month, which honors the 1969 Stonewall Uprising in Manhattan and recognizes the impact that lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBTQ+) individuals have had on history locally, nationally, and internationally.
The United States Patent and Trademark Office flies the Pride Flag and promotes the Pride community’s contributions with programming offered annually. This is fitting, given that the Pride community has contributed improvements to the device you’re using to read this article, even if you took it all the way to outer space! These crucial improvements were decisive milestones leading to advancements for humanity into new frontiers.
Alan Turing was a mathematician, computer scientist, logician, cryptanalyst, and philosopher, who is widely known as the father of theoretical computer science and artificial intelligence. While leading humanity into the digital frontier, Turing was the architect instrumental in cracking the Enigma code, a cipher system to encrypt communications used by Nazi Germans during World War II.
George Washington Carver, also known as the peanut man, was an American inventor, innovator, agriculturalist, and scientist, who developed hundreds of food products further distancing us from the American Frontier. While being skilled in multiple fields having invented a process of producing paints and stains, U.S. Patent No. 1,632,365, and a cosmetic, U.S. Patent No. 1,522,176, Carver was also groundbreaking for agriculture.
Sally Ride was an American astronaut, physicist, researcher, professor, and most importantly the very first female in space, who piloted humanity to the stars, the final frontier. Ride helped develop the Shuttle Remote Manipulator System (RMS) also known as the “Canadarm” and the robot arm, and was the first female to operate the arm in space. Ride was an inspiration to those in all STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) backgrounds and her contributions reach beyond the moon.
As Pride Month continues, and the Pride Flag—with its own rich history that includes intentionally forgoing claims of copyright or trademark protections —waves overhead, remember the contributions to our collective knowledge that STEM (pun intended) from the LGBTQ+ community, from geniuses Turing, Carver, and Ride to those building on their innovations still today.
Anthony M. Gartrelle is an associate at Fishman Stewart, PLLC and a proud supporter of Pride and inclusiveness. Anthony attended Kettering University for Electrical Engineering and Detroit Mercy Law while a Patent Examiner at the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).
Published May 31, 2024
Related Content from Fishman Stewart
Halloween is coming up at the end of this month, and we are celebrating a little early with the spooky copyright story of Jap Herron!
In 2023, California artist Joe Morford lost his copyright infringement lawsuit against Italian artist Maurizio Cattelan. Morford claimed that Cattelan's viral artwork "Comedian," which features a banana duct-taped to a wall, was a copy of his own work, "Banana and Orange."
Last month, Outkast filed suit against ATLiens Touring, seeking an injunction against ATLiens Touring’s continued use of ATLiens and seeking damages.
Fourteen teams of the US National Basketball Association (NBA) have been sued in federal district court for copyright infringement. The complaints were filed by companies claiming to own rights in various musical works.
In the digital age, social media has become a powerful platform for content creation, enabling individuals and businesses to reach wide audiences. Platforms like Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube have made it easy for anyone with a smartphone and an internet connection to create and share content.
In a recent decision, the U.S. Court of Appeal for the Eighth Circuit affirmed a jury verdict holding that the use of the "Success Kid" meme by a congressman's reelection campaign for fundraising purposes did not qualify as fair use.
In February 2024, proposed legislation was introduced in US House of Representatives which would extend copyright protection to golf courses. The bill is titled “Bolstering Intellectual Rights against Digital Infringement Enhancement Act” or the “BIRDIE Act”.
June is Pride Month, which honors the 1969 Stonewall Uprising in Manhattan and recognizes the impact that lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBTQ+) individuals have had on history locally, nationally, and internationally. The United States Patent and Trademark Office flies the Pride Flag and promotes the Pride community’s contributions with programming offered annually.
June is Pride Month. This year we are celebrating with some IP tips for drag performers! Drag performers can protect their intellectual property by registering the copyrights in their original works of music, choreography, and comedy sketches.
You’re rarely more than a few yards from Finny’s favorite chips, semiconductor chips to be precise. But what exactly is a semiconductor chip?
IDENTIFYING, SECURING AND ADVANCING CREATIVITY®