Michael A. Kahn

Flipping Edmund Wilson the Bird: When Does a Work of Literature Qualify as–egads!–a Mystery?

Posted on October 1, 2022 by Michael Kahn

This year marks the 50th anniversary of the death of one of the leading literary critics of his time, Edmund Wilson. While many of his readers, especially in academia, admire him as the author of such influential works as To the Finland Station (1940) and Patriotic Gore (1962), for this humble scribe, whose books are…

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What’s Going Down? How a 1960s Rock Song Confirms the Wisdom of George Santayana

Posted on September 11, 2022September 12, 2022 by Michael Kahn

Earlier this week, as I was listening to a playlist of ’60s rock classics on Spotify, I had a most unusual epiphany: proof of the truth of the most famous warning by one of the great philosophers of the 20th Century. That philosopher? George Santayana. His most famous warning? From his 1905 book The Life…

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More Seductive Pick-Up Lines for Authors

Posted on July 11, 2022July 11, 2022 by Michael Kahn

As I have previously written, an enticing opening sentence to a novel is the author’s equivalent of a seductive pick-up line in a singles bar. You want to grab the attention of–indeed, entice–that potential reader who just picked your book off the shelf at the bookstore and, after examining the cover, opens to page 1…

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The Trial of the Century? Man Plans and God Laughs

Posted on June 13, 2022June 13, 2022 by Michael Kahn

The editors of The Common Reader asked me to review the posthumous publication of F. Lee Bailey’s book about his role in the so-called Trial of the Century: The People v. Orenthal James Simpson, in which the former football star was charged on two counts of murder for the gruesome multiple stabbings of his ex-wife Nicole…

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You Can’t Make This Stuff Up

Posted on May 21, 2022May 21, 2022 by Michael Kahn

As I have stated before, the legal world offers up frequent new evidence in support of that hoary maxim: “Truth is stranger than fiction.” A copyright lawsuit over a farting doll? Check. A trademark registration dispute of the brand of a sucker (lollipop) for fans of the University of South Carolina Gamecocks? Check. And thus…

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More Thoughts on the Brave New World of X-Rated Trademarks

Posted on May 9, 2022May 9, 2022 by Michael Kahn

Yes, you are looking at the one-word trademark whose registration dispute eventually reached the United States Supreme Court. The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office had refused to register the FUCT trademark for apparel. The ground for refusal? Section 2(a) of the Lanham Act, which prohibited the registration of trademarks that were immoral or scandalous. Erik…

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Literary Foreplay: How the Pros Get You in the Mood!

Posted on March 3, 2022March 3, 2022 by Michael Kahn

While out in Phoenix last week I had the pleasure of spending a delightful afternoon with two of my book publishing heroes: Barbara Peters and Rob Rosenwald, the founders of Poison Pen Press. While sipping Rob’s amazing limoncello, which he creates with fruit from the lemon tree in their backyard, our conversation drifted, as you…

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Winnie-the-Pooh and Hemingway, too! Happy Public Domain Day

Posted on January 12, 2022January 12, 2022 by Michael Kahn

The past few New Year’s Days, and every January 1st going forward, herald a special event in the realm of copyright for an ever-growing collection of works of creative arts that fall into the public on that first day of the year. This January 1st marks that special day for one of our favorite literary…

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Trademarks, Pelotons, and Heart Attacks: The Sex in the City Trifecta

Posted on December 23, 2021December 23, 2021 by Michael Kahn

During my years as an intellectual property lawyer, I have gathered a collection of NSFW cases in a folder labeled You Can’t Make This Stuff Up. As discussed in my latest “lawyer” post (linked below), those cases include: A copyright dispute between the makers of two competing farting dolls–yes, dolls that fart; A lollipop company…

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Why Is the Wisest Advice in the World so Hard to Follow?

Posted on June 16, 2021 by Michael Kahn

Many years ago I came across some words of wisdom from Mark Twain that have both inspired and haunted me ever since: Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn’t do than by the things you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor….

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