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By Bloomberg

Apple Inc., operator of the iTunes digital- media distribution system, received a patent on an invention that would give users the means to share a legitimate copy of purchased content.

The aim of the invention is to provide a disincentive for users to “circumvent the content protection technologies and illegally copy without incurring the costs and download time required for purchasing their own copy from the digital content store,” according to the patent.

The technology covered in patent 8,934,624, which was issued to the Cupertino, California-based company Jan. 13, is embedded in a digital copy that is purchased through legitimate means. Embedded within the copy are keys that will make it possible for the purchaser to trade or copy content.

Apple applied for the patent in December 2011 with the assistance of Adelli & Tollen LLP of Los Angeles.

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Copyright

Nestle Unit Told It Can’t Halt Clooney Look-Alike Commercials

Strauss Group Ltd.’s Espresso Club unit has prevailed in a trademark dispute in Israel over its use of a George Clooney look-alike in an ad for coffee machines and capsules, Israel’s Haaretz newspaper reported.

Nestle SA’s Nespresso unit sought a court order barring the commercials, claiming they infringed and deprecated the Nespresso commercials featuring the actor himself, according to Haaretz.

The Tel Aviv District Court rejected the Nespresso request, nothing that the two rival companies are actually aimed at different classes of consumers, with Espresso Club targeting the budget-conscious consumers unimpressed by the so-called “high status” Nespresso image, according to Haaretz.

Nespresso was ordered to pay attorney fees and litigation costs of 58,500 shekels ($14,669), Haaretz reported.

Copyright Issues May Resurrect James Bond Character in Canada

Canadian authors, consulted by Toronto’s Globe and Mail newspaper, are saying they may take advantage of a quirk in that nation’s copyright laws that leave the work of the late Ian Fleming in the public domain.

Canadian copyright law extends only 50 years after the death of the author, and Fleming’s death in August 1964 leaves his James Bond opus up for grabs, the newspaper reported.

Helen Heller, a Canadian literary agent, told the newspaper that some authors said the challenge for writers would be to make the James Bond character a “living, breathing, appealingly complicated character” for today.

The newspaper reported that Ian Fleming Publications Ltd., manager of the Fleming works, didn’t respond to a request for comment on the copyright issue.

For more copyright news, click here.

Trademark

Xanterra Seeks to Register Grand Canyon Names as Trademarks

Xanterra Parks & Resorts Inc., a national park concessionaire, applied to register names associated with Grand Canyon National Park properties as U.S. trademarks, Charlottesville, Virginia’s Daily Progress newspaper reported.

Delaware North Companies, another national park concessionaire, had earlier registered names associated with Yosemite National Park’s landmark buildings as trademarks, according to the newspaper.

Xanterra filed its applications to register names associated with Grand Canyon -- including Phantom Ranch, Bright Angel Lodge and El Tovar -- just before its contracts with the park service were to expire at the end of December 2014, according to the Daily Progress.

The company, based in Greenwood Village, Colorado, has a temporary contract and will be bidding on a new one later in 2015, the newspaper reported.

Two U.S. ‘Je Suis Charlie’ Trademark Applications Submitted

Two applications have been filed to register “Je Suis Charlie” as U.S. trademarks, according to database of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.

The phrase became common following the Jan. 7 terrorist attack on the office of the French satiric publication Charlie Hedbo in which 11 people were killed and another 11 were injured. Previously, applications to register the phrase have been filed in France, Belgium and Australia.

One of the two U.S. applications was filed by Latin American Trading Group Inc. of Aventura, Florida, which said the mark is to be used with luggage, wallets, ceramic items, key chains and clothing.

The other application was filed by Cornerstone Living Trust 010 of Santa Monica, California. That applicant sought to register the mark for use with the promotion of charitable giving “by providing a method to identify the donor’s core values and to select charities that foster those values.”

A search of the website of CafePress Inc., the Louisville, Kentucky-based print-on-demand service, yields 557 different items on which the phrase is printed. A number of items show a fist gripping a pencil, a gesture made by many in solidarity with the Charlie Hedbo cartoonists among those killed. The CafePress offerings include porcelain Christmas ornaments, infant body suits, pillow cases and area rugs, in addition to mugs and T-shirts.

Zazzle Inc., a print-on-demand company in Redwood City, California, has 6,219 listings on its website for “Je Suis Charlie” items. They include covers for mobile phones, flash drives, bumper stickers and guitar picks, as well as T-shirts and mugs.