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Welcome to the LAW FIRM OF DAYREL SEWELL, PLLC. Thank you for visiting the Blog section of this firm. We will be updating this page with information about the firm, recent legal updates, and other legal issues.
Ever since Pheidippides ran from Marathon to Athens, athletes of all levels have marveled at the pursuit of running a marathon.1 26.2 miles is an incredibly daunting task, and professionals to amateurs alike have learned to respect the distance – the race does not owe anyone anything. The allure of competitive racing is the act of accomplishing something that many others cannot, as well as breaking personal barriers and records. For years, feats in professional distance running saw few advances and many runners were reaching unbreakable plateaus using the same shoes they’ve been wearing for years (with very minor advances in shoe technology). However, in recent years, many big players in sportswear have beg Read More
NFTs and Trademarks: General Overview Interest in blockchain technologies, cryptocurrencies, and particularly non-fungible tokens (NFTs) is steadily increasing. According to Eric Anziani, COO of Crypto.com, "NFTs really started initially with the digital art side. But it's going to be a lot more powerful. It will be the tool that represents any digital type of assets in virtual worlds going forward. So the applications are tremendous1." Read More
In the recent article "Statutory Violations Not Enough to Give Rise to a Cause of Action for Class Actions says U.S. Supreme Court", we have analyzed the high-profile case TransUnion v. Ramirez and, specifically, the Supreme Court's reasoning on the standard of proving tort damages in class actions. The full article with a detailed analysis of the case is available Read More
Piece of Cake: What’s Behind Supreme Court Opinions? On June 4, 2018 the United States Supreme Court issued a decision in the controversial case, Masterpiece Cakeshop, Ltd. v. Colorado Civil Rights Commission. The case concerned a baker, Mr. Jack Phillips, a devout Christian, who in 2012 declined to create a wedding cake for a same-sex wedding on the basis that doing so would require him to express himself artistically in a way that was inconsistent with his religious beliefs. At the time, gay marriage was not legally recognized in Colorado. However, the state had an anti-discrimination act regarding goods and services available to the public. See C.R.S. 24-34-601. The Commission determined that Mr. Phillips violated the anti-discrimination act. On review, the Supreme Court held Read More
The Supreme Court’s recent decision in TransUnion v. Ramirez has narrowed Article III standing by making it more difficult for plaintiffs to initiate class action lawsuits against corporate defendants who violate federal statutes. Here, the Court found that violation of a federal statute alone does not give rise to the level of a “concrete injury” for a plaintiff’s Article III standing. The plaintiff mu Read More
On June 15, 2021, a food startup named Rise Brewing filed suit against PepsiCo in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois. The startup has begun to make a name for itself by selling canned cold-brew coffee. Rise Brewing has alleged that the well-known company PepsiCo has infringed on their trademark with their recent launch of a Mountain Dew-branded energy drink called Rise.1 History of InfringementAccording to Forbes, the notorious food, snack, and soda company, PepsiCo, is valued at an astounding $18.2 billion.2 PepsiCo has had its fair share of trademark infringement cases in the past, where they have been sued by brands such as VitaminWater, Pol Read More
The electronic sports industry (“eSports”) has skyrocketed since the early 2000s thanks in part to gaming dominant streaming services like Twitch. It is estimated that the number of US digital gamers will jump by around five percent in 2020 to 174.7 million. 1It is also estimated that eSports will garner an audience of 495 million viewers in 2020 and reach over $1 billion in revenue for the first time ever. 2This unprecedented increase in popularity has given rise to professional gamers, gaming personalities, and content creators (“professional gamers”). With professional gamers being paid from as low as $1,000 a month to as high as $6 million a year, one has to examine how eSports contracts are managed. 3 Read More
Tattoos are permanent, often complex, creative, and original pieces of work created by a tattoo artist. Recently, litigation has come up regarding tattoos on famous athletes. While most issues involving tattoos on athletes are more easily handled — such as J.R. Smith’s tattoo of the brand Supreme on his leg1 — there are questions of whether a tattoo is subject to copyright protection when it is prominently displayed and reproduced on a famous athlete in a video game. This question is at the center of a lawsuit filed by Solid Oak Sketches against Take Two Interactive Software as well as two other producers of the popular NBA 2K Read More
The reworked “fair use” defense has provoked debate because it provides excessively broad immunity to certain types of parodies and other expressive uses of trademarks.1 This Article will explore whether the Trademark Dilution Revision Act (TDRA) promotes a flawed treatment of parodies with regard to sub-clauses that provide selective shelter, and exonerating some parodies from liability while impugning others.2 The principal flaw that is discussed in this Article relates to the parody provision and its application of the trademark use test for determining whether a parody is fair. The provision is pliable in that it can be both lenient and strict on parodies. Read More
Video games have grown in realism since the days of pong on an Atari console. As technology allows for higher resolutions and graphics, so does the need for attention to detail. In certain cases, video game developers try to depict the real world. There are legal implications when this real-world depiction goal includes trademark protected items, such as Humvees. The federal Lanham Act governs trademarks at the federal level. There are two basic requirements: (1) that a mark Read More
