Tag Archives: trademark

Design Law Scholars Roundtable part 2

Session 2: Legal Protection for Design Introduction: Chris Sprigman: what kinds of protection should be available depends on what the justifications for protection are. Incentives: requires us to ask about motivations of designers, the companies that employ them. Design of … Continue reading →

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Design Law Scholars Roundtable (Notre Dame) part 1

I have just now gotten around to my notes from this excellent roundtable. Introduction: Mark McKenna & Graeme Dinwoodie Why do a roundtable like this? Putting together scholarly discussion for long-term outputs rather than particular works in the short term. … Continue reading →

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Trademark overprotection panel, Suffolk

Second Annual Intellectual Property & Innovation Conference Suffolk University Law School NCSG The State of Trademark “Overprotection” by Courts and the PTO. What Happens When Institutions Overprotect Trademark Rights? Moderator: Leah Chan Grinvald, Associate Dean for Academic Affairs and Professor … Continue reading →

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company claiming rights in “overhead doors” makes little headway against challenger

OGD Equipment Co. v. Overhead Door Corp., No. 17-cv-00898-ALM-KPJ, 2019 WL 5390589 (E.D. Tex. Jul. 15, 2019) This is the magistrate judge’s R&R, subsequently adopted by the court. OGD is a Texas “residential and commercial door repair and installation company” … Continue reading →

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TM/ad text question of the day

The shorthand rule in the US is that if you don’t use the competitor’s trademark in your ad text, you’re fine. What if you do? The below ad (which you get by searching “broken Garmin mounts”) isn’t an explicit statement, … Continue reading →

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Bad definition of suggestiveness in a sad TM case about anti-hate groups

Life After Hate, Inc. v. Free Radicals Project, Inc., 2019 WL 4825072, No. 18 C 6967 (N.D. Ill Sept. 30, 2019) “At a time when people—particularly young people—are being radicalized online with alarming frequency, nonprofit organizations like Life After Hate … Continue reading →

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“use in a TM way” just creates another fact issue in the 6th circuit

Ford Motor Co. v. InterMotive, Inc., No. 17-CV-11584-TGB, 2019 WL 4746811 (E.D. Mich. Sept. 30, 2019) Ford sued InterMotive for trademark infringement, false designation of origin, trademark dilution, cancelation of trademark registration, and declaratory judgment for using Ford’s trademarks in … Continue reading →

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small wonder: sleeve undergarment isn’t valid trade dress/innovation claim isn’t false advertising

R and A Synergy LLC v. Spanx, Inc., No. 2:17-cv-09147-SVW-AS, 2019 WL 4390564 (C.D. Cal. May 1, 2019) The court dismissed trademark and false advertising claims brought by R&A based on their “Sleevey Wonders” sleeved undergarments designed to be worn … Continue reading →

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Innovation, Justice, and Globalization: A Celebration of J.H. Reichman

Harvard Law School Opening Keynote Yochai Benkler, Harvard University How do we understand what we do in our field against the background of profoundly increased inequality and stagnation for all but the top 5%, including an unprecedented increase in death … Continue reading →

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Innovation, Justice, and Globalization: A Celebration of J.H. Reichman

Harvard Law School Opening Keynote Yochai Benkler, Harvard University How do we understand what we do in our field against the background of profoundly increased inequality and stagnation for all but the top 5%, including an unprecedented increase in death … Continue reading →

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