Monthly Archives: October 2014

3rd Annual Trademark Works in Progress event at AU

Posted on October 10, 2014 by rtushnet

Charles Colman, Trademark Law and the Prickly Ambivalence of Post-Parodies: The way that people play with trademarks that companies have deliberately infused with atmospherics, per Jessica Litman, and to which people have predictable emotional responses.  TM doesn’t have good ways … Continue reading →

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Court declines to apply Lexmark to TM

Posted on October 8, 2014 by rtushnet

Peter Kiewit Sons’, Inc. v. Wall Street Equity Group, Inc., 2014 WL 4843674, No. 8:10–CV–365 (D. Neb. Sept. 29, 2014) This is a default so it’s just what the court decided to examine with respect to the facts; nonetheless there … Continue reading →

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Future of Music conference announcement w/scholarships

Posted on October 8, 2014 by rtushnet

The Future of Music Coalition’s 14th annual Policy Summit ( http://futureofmusic.org/summit ) is October 27-28 in Washington, DC. It is offering scholarships for students and musicians starting at $25 for both days.  From FOMC: Future of Music Coalition ( http://futureofmusic.org … Continue reading →

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How to analyze fame on the pleadings

Posted on October 8, 2014 by rtushnet

Leapers, Inc. v. SMTS, LCC,  2014 WL 4964376, No. 14–CV–12290 (E.D. Mich. Oct. 3, 2014) Leapers alleged trade dress rights “in the distinctive scalloping design applied to the adjustment knobs and bells of its rifle scopes and/or sights” which were … Continue reading →

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The language of consumer reviews

Posted on October 7, 2014 by rtushnet

Via Eric Goldman’s roundup, the best thing I’ve seen all day: In a recent study we used computational linguistics to examine a million reviews on the web and found that when people write a 1-star review, they use the language … Continue reading →

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Phantom trademark of the Opera: Dastar bars Slep-Tone’s claim

Posted on October 3, 2014 by rtushnet

(There are a lot of Slep-Tone cases floating out around there. I like this one.) Slep-Tone Entertainment Corp. v. Canton Phoenix Inc., 3:14-cv-00764 (D. Or. Sept. 4, 2014) (magistrate judge) Slep-Tone, a maker of karaoke CDs, alleged that defendants (a … Continue reading →

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CFP: INTA trademark scholarship symposium

Posted on October 3, 2014 by rtushnet

Call For Papers: Sixth Annual INTA Trademark Scholarship Symposium The International Trademark Association (“INTA”) is pleased to host the Sixth Annual Trademark Scholarship Symposium during the 137th INTA Annual Meeting in San Diego, California. The Symposium will take place on … Continue reading →

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statements to regulators aren’t commercial advertising

Posted on October 3, 2014 by rtushnet

Presby Environmental, Inc. v. Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc., No. 13–cv–355, 2014 WL 4922986 (D.N.H. Sept. 30, 2014) Presby sued ADS, a competitor in the septic system product market, for allegedly violating a settlement agreement; I’m only going to address the … Continue reading →

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EFF investigates keylogger software, finds false advertising

Posted on October 1, 2014 by rtushnet

From its report on ComputerCOP: In investigating ComputerCOP, we also discovered misleading marketing material, including a letter of endorsement purportedly from the U.S. Department of Treasury, which has now issued a fraud alert over the document. ComputerCOP further claims an … Continue reading →

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