A Dallas-based singer-songwriter is suing country singers Brad Paisley and Carrie Underwood regarding their 2011 hit “Remind Me.” Amy Bowen, who lived in Nashville and performed under the name Lizza Connor, claims she wrote “Remind Me” in 2007 — and that the 2011 country hit was a rip-off of her song. Pierce Greenberg and The City Paper have the story here.

Nashville-based EFT Source, a provider of turnkey card programs and personalization services for ATM and debit cards for financial institutions, announced today that its Card@Once has received a patent from the United States Patent and Trademark Office.

“EFT Source has been a participant in the development of instant issuance since its inception, and the case for its adoption is now much stronger due to the development of technology in recent years,” Bill Dinker, president of EFT Source, said in a release. “This patent establishes Card@Once and its PCI DSS certified card printer network as truly unique and is reflective of our commitment to refining instant issuance technology.”

Instant issuance technology allows financial institutions to instantly deliver financial transaction cards, reducing the delivery time from days to minutes. Card@Once’s patented branch card printer network eliminates the need for financial institutions to develop full infrastructure to support the printing of personalized payment cards. The Card@Once network is monitored 24/7 by EFT Source’s technical team to ensure any network issues are identified and eliminated immediately; thus removing unexpected technical delays for the institution.

In addition, the patent grants exclusive rights for:

* The secure communication and storage of card file data across the Internet to and from the Card@Once printer at the branch;
* A perimeter network coupled to the card services provider network;
* A virtual private network for secure data encryption and communication between the branch card printer network and the card services provider network;
* The card file data that is programmed to the card, including the PIN calculation data; and
* The communication of successes or errors to the branch across the network.

The intense dispute between Curb Records and Tim McGraw has reignited in a big way. Curb officials have filed a copyright lawsuit in District Court wherein they contend that the singer's latest album, released under the Big Machine Label Group umbrella, was recorded while he was still under contract with them. The move comes seven months after a previous case that originated in Chancery Court concluded with the Tennessee Court of Appeals giving McGraw the right to record for a label other than Curb.

“Curb Records, the recording industry and other industries that rely on personal service contracts ... will suffer broad harm if McGraw and others can ignore the provisions of such agreements, selecting which provisions they may choose to follow and refusing to acknowledge others,” the suit, filed by Curb attorney Jay Bowen, states.

The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office recently granted Cumberland Pharmaceuticals a patent for a new formulation of its Acedatote treatment for acetaminophen overdose. The patent award, which is effective through 2025, may not be the end of this chapter of the story, though: Cumberland last year had to fight off a number off challenges to its IP rights.

Del Bryant, the president and CEO of BMI, has been in the headlines of late after megalabels Sony and EMI withdrew some of their catalogs from the performing-rights organizations. In an open letter to the industry, republished on MusicRow, Bryant delves more deeply into the whats and whys of it all.

Under the administrative agreement, BMI will distribute royalties to songwriters and publishers resulting from Sony/ATV and EMI’s negotiations. These agreements are BMI’s first entry into offering these types of administrative services and we believe this is one of many opportunities for our organization to provide additional value to our affiliates in today’s dynamic market.

A battle of the Cracker Barrels looms...

Kraft Foods has sued Cracker Barrel Old Country Store over the Lebanon-based chain's plans to partner with John Morrell Food Group on a range of products to be sold in grocery stores and mass merchandisers. For Cracker Barrel officials, the agreement signed last November was part of a plan to boost the profile of their brand. In an Illinois lawsuit, Kraft says the move would violate its rights to its own Cracker Barrel brand, which it uses primarily for cheese products. Kraft last fall rolled out a new ad campaign for its Cracker Barrel line.

Paul Ney recently passed the patent bar exam, which plugs a hole in Waddey & Patterson's marketing plan: Every one of the firm's attorneys now is a registered patent attorney. Ney, a former economic and community development point man for Metro, joined Waddey almost three years ago as of counsel.