Tag Archives: trademark

WIPIP Session 4: Design

Posted on February 20, 2016 by rtushnet

Session 4: IP, Design, User Experience   Sarah Burstein, Reviving Ornamentality: Fed. Cir. killed ornamentality in design; right now it means nothing other than Morton-Norwich nonfunctionality. She thinks we should bring it back.  Two aspects: (1) “matter of concern” in … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

WIPIP Session 3: Trademark again

Posted on February 20, 2016 by rtushnet

Session 3 Trademark 2   Irene Calboli & Dan Hunter, Trademark Proliferation: Lots of marks—Louboutin soles; motion of Lamborghini doors; etc.  Why so many?  Very broad definition of what can be protected as a mark + ill-interpreted concept of distinctiveness.  … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , | Leave a comment

IPSC Session 2: Trademark 1

Posted on February 19, 2016 by rtushnet

Trademark 1   Paul Heald, Testing Theories of Tarnishment in Trademark and Copyright Law   Tarnishment should be treated like false advertising: you should have to prove some (likely) damage to your TM to win, rather than presumptions.  Tarnishment is … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

New article forthcoming on trademark registration

Posted on February 19, 2016 by rtushnet

New article:  Registering Disagreement: Registration in Modern American Trademark Law, 130 Harvard L. Rev. (forthcoming 2016) Abstract: Trademark scholars widely agree that our current system for evaluating what rights a trademark owner should have over others’ uses of their (or … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , | Leave a comment

Uber and out: court grants limited but still tricky injunction against Uber

Posted on February 18, 2016 by rtushnet

Uber Promotions, Inc. v. Uber Technologies, Inc., No. 15-cv-206 (N.D. Fla. Feb. 16, 2016)   This is a hardcore test of how you feel about consumer protection as the sole legitimate aim of trademark law.  Uber Technologies (Tech) rolled into … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , | Leave a comment

Empire down: Fox’s series protected no matter how confused consumers are

Posted on February 3, 2016 by rtushnet

Twentieth Century Fox Television, et al. v. Empire Distribution Inc., No. 15-2158 (C.D. Cal. Feb. 1, 2016)   Sometimes it’s nice to see the law work itself pure, as a court clears out some plaintiff-postulated ambiguities in Rogers v. Grimaldi.  … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , | Leave a comment

Lexmark gives some non-TM owners standing to sue for infringement

Posted on January 26, 2016 by rtushnet

Innovation Ventures, LLC v. NVE, Inc., 2016 WL 266396, No. 08-11867 (E.D. Mich. Jan. 21, 2016)   This long-lived dispute goes another round of various motions in limine.  Innovation sued NVE for trademark infringement; NVE counterclaimed for false advertising.  Here, … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

My Other Bag seeks fees from TM bully LV

Posted on January 25, 2016 by rtushnet

Public Citizen supports My Other Bag in its motion for attorneys’ fees against fashionable trademark bully Louis Vuitton.  As usual, cogent and vigorous argument.  from Blogger http://ift.tt/1KzZRIE

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

reverse passing off still actionable as false advertising, court reminds us

Posted on January 22, 2016 by rtushnet

OTR Wheel Engineering, Inc. v. West Worldwide Services, Inc., 2016 WL 236231, No. CV-14-085 (E.D. Wash. Jan. 20, 2016) Interesting little case that doesn’t mention Dastar, but is a rare application of the Dastar principle that reverse passing off can … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

SanMedica v. Amazon: how many clickthroughs make likely confusion plausible?

Posted on January 21, 2016 by rtushnet

In SanMedica v. Amazon, the court initially found enough evidence of confusion from Amazon’s continued use of a trademark in keyword ads (after it had kicked the seller off its platform, but continued to offer competing brands) to deny summary … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , | Leave a comment