If the Word “Emoji” is a Protectable Trademark, What Happens Next?–Emoji GmbH v. Schedule A Defendants
Emoji Co. GmbH has registered trademarks in the dictionary word “Emoji.” They mostly are a licensing organization, and their registrations are in a wide range of classes: “from articles of clothing and snacks to ‘orthopaedic foot cushions’ and ‘[p]atient safety…
A Million-Dollar Thumbs-Up Emoji?–Lightstone v. Zinntex
This is a pandemic case. The buyer ordered $2.1M of personal protective equipment (PPE) from the seller in April 2020 and wired the money. The seller subsequently didn’t deliver, and the buyer cancelled the order. That left the issue of…
Comments on Adobe’s 2022 Emoji Usage Trends Survey
[The Internet you know and love is on life support after an awful NetChoice v. Paxton Fifth Circuit opinion and the enactment of two California laws, AB 2273 and AB 587. I’ve written so much about those bills that I…
Ninth Circuit: Elected Officials Violated the First Amendment by Blocking Constituents on Social Media–Garnier v. O’Connor-Ratcliff
This case involves two elected trustees of the Poway Unified School Board (PUSD), Michelle O’Connor-Ratcliff and T.J. Zane. (Poway is a San Diego suburb). They used their Facebook and Twitter pages “to inform constituents about goings-on at the School District…
Probationer Restricted from Using “Gang Symbols” on “Social Media”–In re JT
JT, a minor, was convicted of burglary and more. Based on the probation report, the judge inferred his gang membership. His probation conditions included this restriction: not knowingly post, display or transmit on social media or through his cell phone…
Court Explains How Smileys Are “Prone to Multiple Interpretations”–In re State
This case involves a real estate dispute that’s been in the courts for almost 30 years. (Any case tied up in the courts that long is bound to have lots of drama associated with it and usually has gone well…
Apple Defeats Copyright Lawsuit Over Emoji Depictions–Cub Club v. Apple
The court summarizes the case: Cub Club Investment created an app that allowed people to send racially diverse emoji. According to the complaint, when Apple learned of the app, it liked the idea—so much so, in fact, that it copied…
2021 Emoji Law Year-in-Review
A recap of emoji law developments in 2021: Court References I maintain a dataset of US court opinions that reference emojis and emoticons. I have compiled the dataset using keyword alerts in Westlaw and Lexis, supplemented by a few opinions…
Evidentiary Issues With Emojis
[I did an interview for a student research project on emojis as evidence, which I’m sharing here.] Tell us a little bit about yourself! What do you work with today? What’s your background and how did you get the role…
Are Individual Emoji Depictions Copyrightable? Yes…Well, Sometimes…It Depends…
Though it might surprise you, copyright can protect individual emoji depictions. However, determining when they are copyrightable is a subtle art. This summer, the Copyright Review Board issued an interesting decision about the registrability of emojis. Though it won’t be the…