Who holds the patent on gravity? Who collects the royalties for the speed of light? In this episode of IP Goes Pop!, Volpe Koenig Shareholders and podcasts hosts, Michael Snyder and Joseph Gushue, explore what intellectual property (trade secrets, trademarks, patents and copyrights) cannot protect. Hint- some things excluded from IP protection include the Laws of Nature such as gravity, the speed of light and even Einstein’s theory of relativity E=MC2. Abstract ideas are another. But what other “can’t”s stand between you, your idea, and protections for it?

Play Episode

IP Goes Pop! is back with its second annual Spooktacular! In this episode, things get much spookier as we pit the top four Halloween Monsters against each other. Listen in for a breakdown of these famous characters and archetypes. Play along as your co-hosts, Volpe Koenig Shareholders, Michael Snyder and Joseph Gushue rank Dracula, Dr. Frankenstein’s Monster, Werewolves, and Mummies. What powers or abilities do they have that set them apart from each other? What movie or television show made them Halloween staples, and do these movies stand the test of time? Find out who rates highest on the jack-o-lantern meter to be crowned the spookiest monster of Halloween.

Play Episode

In this episode of IP Goes Pop!, co-hosts and Volpe Koenig shareholders, Michael Snyder and Joseph Gushue, take you through their first round of pop culture “game-changers.” That is, who were the people, artists or innovators after which the world was never the same? Game changers exist in so many pop culture areas, including movies, music, television and sports. In the world of patents and inventions, game changers from hundreds of years ago still impact our lives every day.

Play Episode

This week on IP Goes Pop! co-hosts Michael Snyder and Joseph Gushue are joined by fellow intellectual property attorney and Volpe Koenig Shareholder, Randy Huis, to once again visit the town of Springfield in the fictional, but full of real fun, world of The Simpsons. Patents on candy, robots, and other inventions that may sound more like they are out of a writer’s room rather than based on an inventor’s technical notebook get filed with the Patent Office every day. In this episode listeners will get a taste of just how much intellectual property can come out of, or be inspired by, popular culture.

Play Episode

Young or “prodigy” inventors. We see them fictionalized in movies and we hear about the real child inventors and entrepreneurs who make it onto Shark Tank each season. But in the real world, what programs are in place to encourage young inventors, new entrepreneurs, and small businesses to create and protect their ideas? Where can they turn for reliable information and assistance on available protections for an idea, invention, or a revolutionary business venture, and how to go about securing those protections? This episode of IP Goes Pop! virtually visits the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) for an inside look at the many available resources, World Intellectual Property (IP) Day, and how inventors of any age can bring their ideas into the world.

Play Episode

Volpe Koenig intellectual property attorneys and IP Goes Pop! co-hosts, Michael Snyder and Joseph Gushue team up once again, traveling to where worlds collide, taking us into the complex legal negotiations that bring together beloved pop-culture characters from different franchises or “universes”. Such crossovers can mix movie or TV characters or stories to the delight of fans. But can super heroes like Batman and Spider-Man crossover to team up and fight crime together? And who will they fight?

Play Episode

IP Goes POP! takes you out to the ball game (and the blockchain) for this episode of the podcast, which looks at the shift from “collectible trading cards” to “collectable NFTs”. Podcast co-hosts, Volpe Koenig Shareholders, and intellectual property lawyers, Michael Snyder and Joseph Gushue round the bases and pull out their most memorable sports cards as they slide home to talk about the intellectual property (IP) of baseball cards, collecting, and non-fungible tokens (NFTs).

Play Episode

“We solemnly swear we are up to….intellectual property!” From the words that laid out a fictional universe on the page, to a real-world merchandising, film and interactive theme park experience, the Harry Potter universe has become a pop culture staple of the last two decades. In this episode of the IP Goes Pop!® podcast, hosts and Volpe Koenig Shareholders, Michael Snyder and Joseph Gushue, put on their ‘sorting hats’ and pull back the curtain to reveal the intellectual property (IP) of the ‘Wizarding World of Harry Potter’.

Play Episode

This episode of IP Goes POP! traces the development of a brand from its inception to a seminal trademark. No matter the size of a business, it is important to grow your brand and establish goodwill in your name – and for that you need a strong trademark. In this podcast episode, IP Goes Pop! co-hosts, Volpe Koenig Shareholders, and intellectual property lawyers, Michael Snyder and Joseph Gushue, welcome Philadelphia’s own Pete Ciarrocchi, founder of Chickie’s & Pete’s Sports Bar and Crab House.

Play Episode

American football is a sport that permeates the popular culture, but what intellectual property is involved between the end-zones? In this episode of the IP Goes Pop! podcast we explore the movies, toys, patents, and trademarks that have shaped the sport in modern times. From the technology built into the players’ helmets, to the glowing first-down line you see on television, intellectual property has a huge impact on the way we interface with football.

Play Episode

What do Bambi, Mickey Mouse, and Winnie the Pooh all have in common? Besides remaining lovable pop-culture icons, these cartoon characters are all part of copyrighted works entering the public domain. In our first episode of season three, IP Goes Pop! co-hosts and Volpe Koenig Shareholders, Michael Snyder and Joseph Gushue, are back for a journey into the public domain. With the help of their fellow Shareholder John O’Malley, they walk through the history of copyright term (how long copyrights last), how and when copyrighted works enter the public domain, and the way this area of law continues to evolve as famous and high-value works enter the public domain.

Play Episode

This week IP Goes Pop! carries a torch for IP at the Olympics. Join co-hosts and Volpe Koenig Shareholders, Michael Snyder and Joseph Gushue, for a relay through the intellectual property involved in putting on a global athletic competition that sometimes turns its top competitors into household names and “brands.” In this episode, Michael and Joe dive into the trademarked words, phrases and logos owned or controlled by the International, U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committees and the rights surrounding them. Learn about the planning that goes into Olympic advertising campaigns and a few that have faced challenges.

Play Episode

How do comedians protect their jokes, “bit” concepts, or their delivery style? This week IP Goes Pop! goes to the comedy club to find the line between creative freedom and stolen (or borrowed) laughs. Join Volpe Koenig Shareholders and hosts Michael Snyder and Joseph Gushue as they welcome special guest, Volpe Koenig alum, and comedy fan, Aneesh Mehta, Senior Corporate Counsel for Experiences and Devices at Microsoft.  

Play Episode

This week on IP Goes Pop! fellow Volpe Koenig Shareholder Ryan O’Donnell joins co-hosts Michael Snyder and Joseph Gushue to explore the technical world of the TV show Silicon Valley, the intellectual property (IP) challenges faced by fictional compression algorithm company Pied Piper, and how realistic those challenges are to those of real-world tech start-ups.

Play Episode

This week on IP Goes Pop! Volpe Koenig attorney and Ph.D., Douglas Bucklin joins co-hosts and Shareholders Michael Snyder and Joseph Gushue to travel back in time, and somehow also to the future, to explore intellectual property interests in the area of genetic engineering.In this episode, Michael, Joe, and Doug discuss, among other pop culture icons, the Jurassic Park movies and how the genetic engineering technology discussed in those movies relates to science and intellectual property in the real world.

Play Episode