Inhale, Inc., got a copyright certificate from the U.S. Copyright Office for a hookah that featured a skull-and-crossbones design.

A month later, Inhale sued Starbuzz Tobacco for infringing the copyright.

But Starbuzz's hookah didn't include the osseous symbol that appears often on pirates' Jolly Rogers.

The lack of bony stuff didn't matter, Inhale puffed, due to the…