On December 1, 2005 a federal judge in Portland ruled that Samantha Buck-Lundberg ("Sam Buck") was infringing on the Starbucks trademark by using the "Sambucks" name on her Astoria, Oregon coffee shop. Buck-Lundberg decided to fight Starbucks and was found to be “willingly infringing” on the trademark.

Although in most situations a court cannot order a person to stop using their legal name as part of their business name, the court found that "Sam Bucks" was a nickname and they further found that consumers were confused by the name.

Starbucks aggressively protects its trademark rights and has sued numerous "potential" infringers in the United States and internationally.

Other recent defendants in Starbucks actions include "Starboch" (a Texas beer), "Charbucks" (a dark roast coffee brand), and "Xingbake" (a Chinese coffeehouse chain, whose name when translated from Chinese to English sounds like "Star Buck").

RSS (Really Simple Syndication) is a system that uses XML code to constantly scan websites for updates. After finding updates, RSS broadcasts those updates to a list of subscribers through a feed.

RSS is typically used for news websites or blogs. When an update is sent, a headline will appear with the synopsis of the story. To view the entire story a reader clicks a link and is taken to a new window where the story is displayed.

Robert Sillerman, a Wall Street entrepreneur, is the proud new owner of Elvis Presley Enterprises and 19 Entertainment which owned American Idol.

The King’s revenues have been stagnant at $40 million per year and with a purchase price exceeding $190 million in cash, stocks and debt reduction, Mr. Sillerman will need a few years to recoup his investment.

On the American Idol front, Mr. Sillerman can expect to receive per episode revenues from Fox Television that exceed $1.2 million. Mr. Sillerman purchased 19 Entertainment for $196 million.

Tamera H. Bennett started her practice in the intellectual property / entertainment law section of Decker, Jones, McMackin in Fort Worth, Texas. She departed Decker, Jones to start her own firm specializing in copyright, trademark and entertainment law matters. Tamera graduated magna cum laude from Texas Wesleyan University School of Law. She received her undergraduate degree in Recording Industry Studies from Middle Tennessee State University with honors.

Tamera is the current Chair of the State Bar of Texas' Entertainment and Sports Law Section and she frequently lectures on copyright and trademark law matters.

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