Tag Archives: trademark

Trademark scholars roundtable: the consumer in different contexts

Posted on June 30, 2015 by rtushnet

Session 3:  The Consumer in Different Trade Mark Contexts Do the questions that we have looked at in the first two sessions vary in different trademark and adjacent contexts? Is assessment of the reaction of the average consumer in trade … Continue reading →

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Trademark scholars roundtable: establishing the features of the consumer

Posted on June 29, 2015 by rtushnet

Session 2: Establishing the Features of the Consumer   The UK courts have in recent years been quite explicit that the consumer is a normative construct, a fiction, and a benchmark. What does this mean? Does the modifier “average” or … Continue reading →

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Trademark scholars roundtable: roles for the consumer in TM

Posted on June 29, 2015 by rtushnet

Seventh Trademark Scholars Roundtable: The Construction of the Consumer in Trade Mark Law   Session 1: Roles for the Consumer in Trade Mark Law What role does the “consumer” (whether “average” or “reasonable” or otherwise) play in trade mark law? … Continue reading →

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claim of “improved” version of competitor’s product not likely to confuse

Posted on June 29, 2015 by rtushnet

Arborjet, Inc. v. Rainbow Treecare Scientific Advancements, Inc., 63 F.Supp.3d 149 (D. Mass. 2014)   Arborjet sued Rainbow over an alleged breach of a sales agency agreement and won a preliminary injunction.  Arborjet makes insect and pest control products for … Continue reading →

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Court throws shade on TM claimant’s naked licensing

Posted on June 18, 2015 by rtushnet

Amscan Inc. v. Shutter Shades, Inc., No. 13-CV-1112 (S.D.N.Y. Apr. 30, 3015)   Plaintiff Party City is a party goods retailer, and plaintiff Amscan makes party goods that it distributes to many retail outlets, including Party City.  Defendant Shutter Shades … Continue reading →

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Amicus brief in Slep-Tone about scope of Dastar

Posted on June 18, 2015 by rtushnet

Belatedly, I also participated in this amicus brief in Slep-Tone v. Canton Phoenix, now on appeal in the 9th Circuit, about an attempt to make an end run around lack of copyright ownership to assert trademark claims instead.  Thanks to … Continue reading →

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In which I sue the government

Posted on June 12, 2015 by rtushnet

So, remember when ICE held a press conference and claimed that disparaging a mark constituted counterfeiting?  I ended up filing a FOIA request to figure out under what circumstances ICE took this position, and since it was denied, I am … Continue reading →

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Student athletes lose another right of publicity claim

Posted on June 11, 2015 by rtushnet

Marshall v. ESPN Inc., No. 14-01945 (M.D. Tenn. Jun. 4, 2015)   Current and former student athletes who played NCAA football or basketball sued college conferences, networks, and licensors for violating their rights of publicity and foreclosing them from the … Continue reading →

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Don’t start a competing business using your boss’s equipment

Posted on May 29, 2015 by rtushnet

Nedschroef Detroit Corp. v. Bemas Enterprises LLC, 2015 WL 2453511, No. 14–10095 (E.D. Mich. May 22, 2015)   Defendants Rigole and LePage were Nedschroef employees in Detroit who formed a competing company, Bemas, while still working for Nedschroef. Nedschroef makes … Continue reading →

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I intervene in SanMedica v. Amazon to disclose clickthroughs

Posted on May 26, 2015 by rtushnet

Kind of a busy day.  With the invaluable help of Public Citizen, I filed a motion to intervene and unseal in the SanMedica case, in which the court redacted the number of clickthroughs received by Amazon as a result of its … Continue reading →

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