Own Your Genius with LaConya Murray

  Last week I was tagged on a Facebook post where a Crayon Case fan posted pictures of school supply themed make up that was for sale in Sephora. That’s right big brands Moschino and Sephora teamed up to rip off the black owned cosmetic brand. I was heartbroken when I saw the pictures. Now what I do know is that Supa’s customers are super loyal to her, so they won’t be jumping ship to pu...

 Sooo 50 Cent out here taking petty to whole other levels. Teairra Mari release a diss track, “I ain’t got it” referring to the 30k she owes him. Fifty swooped in and bought the domain name and filed for the trademark before she had a chance to make any money from it. #gottabequickerthanthat Before you strive for this level of pettiness make sure to listen to today’s podcast. Top three takeaw...

Entrepreneur Magazine is sending cease and desist letters to businesses using the word entrepreneur. That's not how this works. It's not how any of this works. Top 3 Takeaways  Trademark registration does not necessarily give you absolute ownership of the registered mark. Trademark protection is limited to how your mark is used. Entrepreneurs have to know your rights as it relates to intellec...

Cardi B said that while she is here she’s gonna secure ALL the bags! She went on Instagram last week for the folks  who were mad that she filed to trademark Okurr, her signature catchphrase. Some people are like how? Some  people are like but the Kardashians did it first. So gather around as I spill the tea.

According to the Verge.com, Peloton is being sued for copyright infringement by several members of the National Music Publishers Association (NMPA) for using music that they do not have the rights to. Peloton is not the only one guilty of this. Everyday 100s of 1000s of people commit copyright infringement  on social media and in their business and try to absolve themselves by using the discl...

  It’s March 18, 2019, Beyonce and Jay-Z’s first born, Blue Ivy Carter is 7years old and her parents are still battling to secure her trademark. The couple first filed for trademark protection in an intent to use application in January of 2012. An office action was issued for likelihood of confusion with another company however the problem was rectified when the Carters amended their app...

False Advertisement is a thing and its not just reserved for brand ambassadors. Under the Lanham Act, the same act that governs trademarks and services marks, businesses are prohibited from creating an unfair competitive advantage through misleading advertising or label.

Nicholas Karno, Inc. filed for trademark protection of the Huge Ass Beer mark in 2013 after using the mark in commerce since 1996. His beer became well known because of the gigantic 32 oz container the beer is sold in. According to Karno, the infringement began after a business relationship went south. At which time the Olano family began selling Gaint Ass Beer in several of their business establi...

Today’s episode is an update. In episode 7 of season 1 of the legal tea with discussed Fornite’s problematic behavior. Where the company was using dances made popular by black artist in their game without permission, credit or payment. We talked about copyrights as they relate to dance and the likelihood of someone succeeding on a copyright infringement lawsuit. In episode 15 of season 1 we discus...

 Fiji Water hired Kelleth Cuthbert as a model to promote their product at the Golden Globes. After becoming a social media hit, Cuthbert sued Fiji Water for creating an unauthorized marketing campaign based off of the Golden Globe moment using her likeness. The company created cardboard cutouts of Cuthbert and used them in offline marketing campaigns. She believed this alleged unauthorized us...

Gigi Hadid is being sued for copying a picture of herself and posting it to her Instagram account.  As business owners it is very important that we understand copyright laws. Especially today when we’re able to scale our businesses through outsourcing rather than hiring employees. Our three top takeaways are 1. The person who brings the work to life is the person who owns the work unless they...

Samsung is suing one of their brand ambassadors for breach of contract in the amount of 1.6 million dollars. One of our favorite Sex in the City girlfriends is also being sued for not fulfilling her duties as brand ambassador.  Today's episode will discuss why written contracts are a must, especially when working with influencers. Top Three Takeaways  1. Use Written Agreements 2. Use Wri...

Winter is here but April is not  however that doesn't stop us from noticing the significance of branding even in the early modern period. Rihanna is suing her father for brand confusion, and McDonald's lost their trademark overseas. Seems we a learn a few things about trademarks from Game of Thrones, Rihanna, and McDonald's.  Top three takeaways 1. Trademarks have been around for a long,...

Thursday night Lifetime debuted a documentary series titled, “Surviving R. Kelly” It is a multi-night event giving voices to the women who have alleged to been victims of R&B singer R. Kelly’s alleged predator behavior. The documentary includes over 50 interviews of not only alleged victims but also family members, musicians, and creator of the me too movement, Tarana Burke. For its efforts to...

Today we are going to discuss the OWN’s network series, Love Is and how creatives can protect themselves when they are pitching their ideas to third parties.  After being renewed for a second season, the show was abruptly cancelled amid allegations of domestic violence and copyright infringement from one of the show’s creators.  Our focus today is on the copyright infringement allegation...

Did you see Offset's latest attempt to win his wife back? Join me and my guests, licensed therapist Ce Anderson and domestic violence attorney Adele Baker Underwood as we discuss the non- physical form of domestic violence and legal remedies for relief. Our top 3 takeaways 1. Domestic violence is not always physical. 2. Vet potential love interest before you become emotionally invested in them. 3....

Welcome to episode 15 of the Legal Tea. Today's episode is an update of previous issues we've talked about in the past. Did Cardi B give Fashion Nova written consent to use her name for their trademark? What artist finally sued Fornite for using their likeness? How did Nickelodeon respond to the cease and desist to their use of Double Dare? Our top 3 takeaways 1. Maintain your trademark registrati...

A couple of weeks ago when we’re discussing Prince's estate trademarking the color purple, I mention the estate filing a lawsuit against for Domain Capital for cybersquatting. Long story short. Domain Capital loaned money to the previous owner of prince.com. (The previous owner was not Prince) The previous owner defaulted on their loan payments and Domain Capital took over the domain. It's very in...

Hey ya'll what's poppin? Thanksgiving has come and gone. Turkey leftovers have been transformed to turkey soup, casseroles, sandwiches, lol. Inboxes have been blowing up with sale notifications left and right for black Friday and Cyber Monday. We even had our on holiday sales going on. But the person that came out on top without any doubt is Supa Cent. Owner of the black owned cosmetic line, The C...

If you follow our Facebook business page for a while you might remember a few months ago I told ya'll that Johnny Gill and Ralph Tresvant of New Edition filed for and received a federal trademark for the group's stage name. For those of you who missed it here's the gist of the conversation. Well in May Ronnie, Ricky, Bobby, and Mike filed to cancel the trademark. Cancellation occurs after the trad...

Today we're talking about the Purple wonder himself, Prince. As we all know, this legend understood the importance of protecting his intellectual property and was no stranger to defending his rights through legal action when necessary. Remember the time he sued 22 Facebook users for linking to bootleg copies of music. How about the time he changed his name to a symbol as a result of contract dispu...

We're talking copyrights and today's story comes from my own backyard. Boykin, AL which is located in Wilcox County only about 2 hours from Montgomery and known to most people as Gee's Bends. Gee's Bend has a population of under 700. The town became known for the unique quilts made by members of its community. These quilts were created out of necessity, not art. Despite this fact, the quilts caugh...

We know when it comes to using someone’s intellectual property the rule is always seek permission. Well, this week I’ve read two cases of artists who did, in fact, seek permission BUT when their request was met with denial they moved forward anyway. Choosing to ask forgiveness instead. Case 1. Kendrick Lamar and SZA’s All The Stars music video uses visual artist Lina Iris Viktor. Viktor stated in...

Rihanna is being sued over her use of Fenty University’s FU design. Freedom United claims that Rihanna through her partnership with Puma is knowingly committing trademark infringement and engaging in unfair competition through the use of their similar design. Top 3 Takeaways 1. If you have a clothing brand, make sure to use your logo as a brand identifier, not just a design. 2. Trademark infringem...

Although free to use, Fornite charges users for everything else in the game including popular dance moves. They call the dance by other names however the majority of people know the origin come from. Artist and others are calling out Fornite for not giving the artist compensation or credit. One Twitter user asked the twitter world why Soulja’s boy dance “Superman” hadn’t been jacked. Ask and you s...