Month: August 2016

Mention the appellation Westsiders to those who know well the self-proclaimed entertainment capital of the world, and heads nod in knowing acknowledgement: Yes, those who reside in Los Angeles, west of La Cienega Boulevard, are, indeed, a peculiar people. Similarly, the Pet Shop Boys, an English pop duo, scored a 2000 hit by describing the affinities of London’s distinctive “West End girls and Eastern boys.” But when it comes to residents of a slice of Manhattan, denizens of the Lower East Side or Loisaidas, is that a sort of generic geographical descriptor en Espanol, or is it a name of a group of people, say, a band, that can be trademark protected by a “urban bachata” duo hailing from the neighborhood? And, more key, if a film mentions Loisaidas repeatedly, including in its title, is that a trademark infringement? No, a federal judge in New York decided recently,  dismissing a lawsuit against Kanye West, Damon Dash, and various corporate entities associated with Dash. The court found that Loisaidas, the film series by West and Dash, has artistic relevance and is protected by the First Amendment. In 2015, musician Michael Medina sued for trademark infringment, then amended his complaint twice. His most recent suit asserted that West and Dash infringed Medina’s Loisaidas trademark, which he obtained for his band name in 2011, and, in 2012, for recordings and music videos....