Intangiblia™

Swipe once and everything changes: not just your screen, but the law that decides who owns the look and feel of our digital world. We dig into how design law—built for chairs, lamps, and sneakers—now grapples with GUIs, animations, and metaverse wearables, and why that shift is reshaping how creators protect their work. From the basics of industrial design rights to the thorny ordinary observer te...

The race between pirates and rights holders has entered a new era where algorithms call the shots. Across six countries on three continents, courts are embracing AI as the referee of intellectual property rights in sports broadcasting, delivering a game-changing shift in enforcement speed and effectiveness. From hockey arenas in Toronto to cricket grounds in Mumbai, sophisticated AI systems now fi...

Every masterpiece you've ever consumed likely passed through a licensing agreement first. That catchy song in your favorite commercial? Licensed. The superhero logo on your coffee mug? Licensed. The technology powering your smartphone? Licensed hundreds of times over. Licensing represents the hidden architecture behind innovation empires, allowing creators to extend their reach without surren...

Welcome to a fascinating exploration of the hidden legal battles shaping tomorrow's technology. Predictive algorithms have become the crystal balls of modern business, forecasting everything from home prices to healthcare costs, but they're also becoming the center of high-stakes courtroom dramas worth hundreds of millions of dollars. Across the globe, from Texas courtrooms to China&apos...

Choreography copyright exists in a fascinating legal gray area where cultural ownership and legal protection often clash. When Alfonso Ribeiro attempted to claim rights to his iconic "Carlton Dance" from Fresh Prince of Bel-Air after Fortnite used it as a purchasable emote, his case was dismissed because the Copyright Office deemed the routine "too simple" - just three basic da...

Get the book! The greatest innovations often begin with a simple question: "What if we tried this differently?" In this fascinating exploration of innovation mindsets, we unpack the two complementary approaches that fuel breakthroughs—design thinking and first principles thinking. hese very approaches are at the heart of my book Protection for the Inventive Mind , a practical fieldbook t...

Get the book! Artificial intelligence is rapidly becoming central to areas such as public health, education, agriculture, and climate resilience. In this context, the role of the State is coming into sharper focus, particularly in how governments can shape innovation to serve broad social goals. Intellectual property frameworks, often seen as tools for exclusivity, are being repurposed to support...

Get the book! What happens when artificial intelligence challenges humans for the invention crown? We dive into this provocative question by examining real-world examples where AI has revolutionized fields from drug discovery to furniture design. The evidence is compelling. AI systems have accelerated medical research, discovered antibiotics against resistant bacteria, identified new molecular pat...

Reimagining Intellectual Property in the Age of Luxury Tech : I’m curating this exclusive side event in Geneva on September 1 during the Luxury Innovation Summit. Limited seats, apply now to join the conversation. On this episode, we discuss how the explosive growth of the influencer economy has created a fascinating new frontier in intellectual property law, where personal brands clash with corpo...

Your face unlocks your phone, animates your emoji, and verifies your identity but who actually owns the digital rights to your unique features? In this deep dive into biometric data law, we explore the high-stakes legal battles reshaping how technology interacts with our most personal physical characteristics. When Facebook paid $650 million to settle a class action lawsuit over facial recognition...

The invisible legal architecture behind AI systems, either talking to each other or failing spectacularly, takes center stage in this deep dive into interoperability. Far more than technical specifications, the ability of AI models to connect and share data represents a battlefield where intellectual property rights, competition law, and global governance clash to determine who controls the digita...

The line between groundbreaking innovation and controversial ownership blurs when scientists begin creating life in laboratories. What happens when your invention isn't just a device or chemical formula, but a living, breathing, self-replicating organism that refuses to stay contained within traditional legal boundaries? Synthetic biology—the field where engineering meets genetics—has created...

Quantum computing stands at the precipice of transforming our world—and the legal frameworks protecting this revolutionary technology are racing to keep pace.  Dive deep into the realm where quantum physics meets intellectual property as we explore how these powerful machines are already solving problems classical computers can barely touch. From accelerating drug discovery and designing next-gene...

Skyscrapers aren't just engineering marvels, they're intellectual property battlegrounds where creativity meets the courtroom. Welcome to the fascinating world where distinctive buildings become trademarked brands, architectural blueprints trigger million-dollar lawsuits, and even tourist photographs might infringe copyright. Our journey begins with trade dress protection for buildings s...

What's your intellectual property truly worth when it's on the line? Not what you hope or what you feel, but what courts, investors, and negotiators will actually pay. This episode of Intangiblia dives deep into the high-stakes world of IP valuation, where patents, trademarks, and copyrights transform from abstract legal protections into concrete dollar amounts. We journey through landma...

Dive headfirst into the surprisingly cutthroat world of luxury watch intellectual property battles where the stakes are as high as the price tags. From Swiss ateliers to Silicon Valley boardrooms, the gloves come off when horological heavyweights defend their creations against customizers, competitors, and counterfeiters alike. When does personalization cross into infringement? The Rolex cases aga...

The beautiful game has transformed into something far more complex than 22 players chasing a ball. Today's football exists as a sophisticated intellectual property ecosystem worth billions, where legal battles off the pitch often carry stakes as high as championship finals. From broadcasting rights that form the financial lifeblood of leagues worldwide to domain name disputes protecting women...

Genius doesn't come with a price tag until someone tries to take it from you. When brilliant minds create groundbreaking innovations during employment, who truly owns these inventions? This fascinating legal arena pits creators against corporations in battles that can span decades and result in multi-million-dollar verdicts. Meet John Peterson, the engineer who refused to surrender his weeken...

Ever wondered what happens when your right to resell clashes with someone else's trademark? The secondary market is booming—from luxury perfumes to used hard drives and even virtual farm animals—but these second lives come with surprising legal complications. Secondary markets aren't just about thrift store finds anymore. They're complex ecosystems where intellectual property law de...

Buckle up for a high-speed legal adventure through the automotive industry's most consequential intellectual property battles. From Formula One espionage that cost McLaren $100 million to landmark rulings that protect the very shape of your car, we're lifting the hood on how innovation is fueled, protected, and occasionally stolen in the world of wheels. The modern automobile isn't...

Behind every pixel, mechanic, and character design lies a hidden battlefield where intellectual property law shapes the games we play. From energy drinks to tattoos, the unlikely legal showdowns that define modern gaming are stranger than fiction. Play IP Sidequest Showdown . An escape-room-style game inspired by this episode. Drop a comment if you cracked the code. Monster Energy's aggressiv...

Courtroom battles are reshaping the film industry in ways that affect everyone from A-list stars to streaming subscribers. When Scarlett Johansson sued Disney over Black Widow's simultaneous streaming release, she wasn't just fighting for her paycheck—she was challenging how talent gets compensated in the digital age. The resulting alleged $40 million settlement forced studios everywhere...

The difference between a brilliant innovation and a costly lawsuit often comes down to one critical factor: understanding the legal landscape before you launch. Patents, market barriers, and licensing traps aren't just fine print—they're the playing field that determines which ideas succeed and which ones crash. In this eye-opening exploration of intellectual property strategy, we dive d...

Behind every "planet-positive" product wrapped in plastic lies the fascinating paradox of greenwashing—where marketing promises grow faster than bamboo but stand on foundations about as sturdy as a soggy paper straw. Welcome to the messy jungle of environmental branding, where not everything labeled clean actually is. Greenwashing represents the dangerous intersection where trademark law...

A bottle of wine carries more than fermented grapes. It embodies intellectual property worth billions in global markets. From the tapas bars of Barcelona to the vineyards of Australia, wine names spark international incidents with real-world consequences. When a small Spanish bar named "Champanillo" (little champagne) faced the wrath of the powerful Comité Champagne, it revealed how geog...