Tag Archives: trademark

Soliciting lawsuits against TM owner isn’t confusing use of TM owner’s mark

Posted on December 14, 2015 by rtushnet

AMCOL Sys., Inc. v. Lemberg Law, LLC, No. 3:15-3422, 2015 WL 8493955 (D.S.C. Dec. 10, 2015)   AMCOL provides debt collection services and is subject to the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA)’s ban on “harassment” in debt collection. AMCOL … Continue reading →

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Reading list: Redskins as insult and brand

Posted on December 12, 2015 by rtushnet

C. Richard King, Redskins: Insult and Brand (2016) Passionate, if somewhat repetitive (as perhaps all moral calls to action are), argument about the poisonous nature of the Washington football team’s name. King argues that the name isn’t just about insulting … Continue reading →

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Reading list: empirically testing tarnishment of movies

Posted on December 9, 2015 by rtushnet

Christopher Buccafusco, Paul J. Heald, & Wen Bu, Testing Tarnishment in Trademark and Copyright Law: The Effect of Pornographic Versions of Protected Marks and Works:   This Article [reports] the results of two novel experiments designed to test the effects … Continue reading →

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6th Circuit holds that targeted ads are commercial advertising or promotion

Posted on December 8, 2015 by rtushnet

Grubbs v. Sheakley Gp., Inc., 2015 WL 7964109, — F.3d – (6th Cir. Dec. 7, 2015)   District court’s ruling covered here (with my raised eyebrow).  The court of appeals affirms the dismissal of the RICO claims (they’re RICO claims), … Continue reading →

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Court mashes up Dastar and commercial speech doctrine to protect book from Lanham Act

Posted on December 7, 2015 by rtushnet

Keel v. Axelrod, No. 15-1507, 2015 WL 7733973 (E.D. Pa. Dec. 1, 2015)   Political operative David Axelrod wrote a book, Believer: My Forty Years in Politics. Frank Keel, a political and media consultant, sued under state and federal law … Continue reading →

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Amicus brief in karaoke case: Dastar revisited

Posted on December 2, 2015 by rtushnet

Mark McKenna (and I) filed an amicus brief on behalf of IP professors in another karaoke case, dealing with alleged infringement that consisted of displaying karaoke lyrics using unauthorized copies of the karaoke tracks, based on alleged trade dress in the audiovisual … Continue reading →

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Trademark Law’s Fundamental Purposes, part 3

Posted on November 20, 2015 by rtushnet

Purposes and limits (or not) in modern trademark law:  Wendy Gordon, Rebecca Tushnet   RT: Stacey Dogan’s statement that as a practical matter we need justifications for copying/free riding—I didn’t want to believe it, but I’m coming around to that … Continue reading →

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Trademark Law’s Fundamental Purposes, part 2

Posted on November 20, 2015 by rtushnet

The role of justifications and equitable considerations in trademark law:  Stacey Dogan   Many of the early cases are limiting protection b/c of some interest they’re trying to protect on the other side—Borden is an exception.  Maybe a public right … Continue reading →

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Trademark Law’s Fundamental Purposes at BU

Posted on November 20, 2015 by rtushnet

IP Conversations:  Trademark Law’s Fundamental Purposes, Boston University School of Law   The debate over normative foundations:  Mark McKenna: up until the 1920s-40s, courts uniformly understood that unfair competition was about trade diversion, illegitimately getting business that should have gone … Continue reading →

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Trademark question of the day, Hamilton edition

Posted on November 17, 2015 by rtushnet

Yes, this is a Hamilton blog for the foreseeable future.  As they say, sorry not sorry.  Last night, Bernie Sanders sent me this email: Fellow Hamiltunes fans (many of whom are almost certainly in Sanders’ target demographic, like me) will … Continue reading →

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