Tag Archives: trademark

Trademark question of the day, sperm donor edition

Posted on October 13, 2015 by rtushnet

From an eagle-eyed student, who also reports that one consequence of transferring from a well-regarded state school to an Ivy League school was the appearance of these ads on his Facebook wall. Dilution of Nike’s marks?  from Blogger http://ift.tt/1WZxI56

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DMCA doesn’t block reverse engineering of vehicle diagnosis software but TM might

Posted on October 5, 2015 by rtushnet

Ford Motor Co. v. Autel US Inc., No.14-13760 (E.D. Mich. Sept. 30, 3015)   Apart from cars and trucks, Ford sells automotive repair products. Among them is Ford’s Integrated Diagnostic System (IDS system) which diagnoses potential problems with Ford vehicles … Continue reading →

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Notre Dame Roundtable on Drassinower, Part 4

Posted on October 2, 2015 by rtushnet

Session IV – Subject Matter and Limitations   •           Rebecca Tushnet   Drassinower defines trademark as the right to completely control the meaning of a mark as applied to a good or service: radically unidirectional, like a one-way traffic sign, … Continue reading →

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Don’t send misappropriation to do copyright’s job

Posted on October 1, 2015 by rtushnet

Alaskasland.com, LLC v. Cross, No. S­15270 (Alaska Sept. 25, 2015)   A realtor group listed property adjacent to a neighboring subdivision, Susitna Shores, using three photos taken from the subdivision’s marketing materials, including one showing the subdivision’s stylized entrance sign.  … Continue reading →

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Notice and Notice Failure at BU, panel 8

Posted on September 26, 2015 by rtushnet

Robert Bone – Notice Failure and Defenses in Trademark Law   Bone’s basic argument: Principal notice issue in TM is uncertainty about scope, and principal problem is chilling effects. Bone finds an important distinction between unauthorized uses that implicate rights … Continue reading →

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Notice and notice failure at BU: panel 1

Posted on September 25, 2015 by rtushnet

Graeme Dinwoodie – Trademarks and Commercial Reality: registration systems/use systems; Industrial policy/consumer protection and registered/unregistered affect notice, but not sure how much compared to patent.  Costs of inadequate notice may not be as great.  Efforts to ensure adequate notice need … Continue reading →

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Just another lawsuit out of Boston

Posted on September 24, 2015 by rtushnet

Scholz v. Goudreau, 2015 WL 5554012, No. 13-cv-10951 (D. Mass. Sept. 21, 2015)   Scholz and Goudreau were both members of the band Boston.  Goudreau played guitar on the band’s first two albums, performing with it from 1976-1979 before leaving … Continue reading →

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Journal of Patent & Trademark Office Society’s Mid-Atlantic student writing competition

Posted on September 16, 2015 by rtushnet

As the oldest publishing intellectual property law journal in America, the Journal of Patent & Trademark Office Society (JPTOS) provides a forum dedicated to the discussion of legal and technical subjects related to patent, trademark, and copyright laws.  JPTOS boasts … Continue reading →

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Another internal website search engine case survives motion to dismiss

Posted on September 8, 2015 by rtushnet

Stiles v. Wal-Mart Stores, Inc., 2015 WL 5173060, No. 2:14–CV–2234 (E.D. Cal. Sept. 2, 2015) (magistrate judge)   Stiles allegedly patented the “Stiles Razor,” the only personal styling razor with a 1/8” blade and ergonomic handle allowing for safe and … Continue reading →

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TM/right of publicity mismatch claims another video game victim

Posted on September 3, 2015 by rtushnet

Virag, SRL v. Sony Computer Entertainment America LLC, No. 3:15-cv-01729 (N.D. Cal. Aug. 21, 2015)   In yet another demonstration of the ridiculous mismatch between right of publicity law and trademark law, Sony wins dismissal of trademark claims for its … Continue reading →

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