You’re probably familiar with the saying, “Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery.” At the same time that saying was coined in England, here in the United States, the sentiment was quite different.

In 1790 the Federal Government passed the first Copyright Act, which made imitation illegal. We’re still in the process of working out exactly what is imitation and what, legally, isn’t.  For example, George Rodrigue’s famous Blue Dog. Rodrigue’s Blue Dog is based on the Cajun folk tale of the Loup Garou. If you grew up in Acadiana and you paint a blue dog, are you expressing your Cajun culture? Or are you ripping off George Rodrigue?

That’s the kind of question that is not just theoretical to George Rodrigue’s son, Jacques.

As an attorney, Jacques Rodrigue is a specialist in Intellectual Property. He’s also Executive Director of the George Rodrigue Foundation of the Arts.

The law firm Jones Walker is a major sponsor of Out to Lunch. So, Aileen thought she’d take advantage of that relationship and invite Michael Leachman to lunch. Michael is a partner at Jones Walker. He’s a specialist patent attorney. Michael works with clients on patents and trademarks. He represents clients in federal and state courts in the areas of trademark infringement, unfair competition, and all kinds of trademark and intellectual property disputes in a wide range of all fields, including science and technology.

Photos at Marcello’s Wine Market Cafe by Lucius Fontenot.