Marketing Commons^™

Tweet Upon A Star: Organic Brand Engagement With Celebrities On Social Media Platforms, Kristin M. Adams

William & Mary Business Law Review

Social media is a rapidly evolving form of digital communication in the modern age. Brands continue to focus increasing resources on garnering consumer attention on social media platforms and are demanding measurable results from agencies or internal social media marketing teams. To both increase and demonstrate the value of a brand’s social media presence, many companies are engaging in behaviors that entail riskier legal strategies. Perhaps the most substantial legal land mine is “real-time content,” in which brands create and post content on vastly accelerated timelines with truncated legal approval processes in order to interact meaningfully with consumers. This Note …

Can China Protect The Olympics, Or Should The Olympics Be Protected From China?, Jennifer L. Donatuti

Journal of Intellectual Property Law

No abstract provided.

Contextual Healing: What To Do About Scandalous Trademarks And Lanham Act 2(A), Megan M. Carpenter

Law Faculty Scholarship

Offensive trademarks have come to the forefront of trademark policy and practice in recent years. While it was once true that more attention had been paid to Lanham Act section 2(a) in the pages of law reviews than in the courts, recent prominent cases have focused attention on the ban on registration of offensive marks and the widespread impact of this ban on trademark owners.

In this Article, I answer the fundamental question: Given the problems that my previous research has identified, what should be done about the 2(a) bar on registration of scandalous trademarks? This Article argues, as a …

An Alternate Functionality Reality, Harold R. Weinberg

Journal of Intellectual Property Law

The Supreme Court last addressed trade dress law’s functionality doctrine in TrafFix Devices, Inc. v. Marketing Displays, Inc. decided in 2001. This article applies content analysis to data from post-TrafFix functionality cases to provide insights concerning the functionality doctrine. It emphasizes data from cases concerning motions for summary judgment and preliminary injunction. The analysis employs two conceptual constructs: a “useful/aesthetic continuum” and “mixed-character” design features. The article also considers data in light of a “two-bar mandate” and two principles: “useful-scarcity” and “aesthetic-abundance.” It concludes with observations concerning the post-TrafFix functionality doctrine and suggestions for improving its judicial …

A New Hope: South Carolina's Struggle With Domestic Violence, Riley Anne Bearden

Senior Theses

South Carolina has come into the national spotlight over the past 10 years over it’s consistent issue with domestic violence. With domestic homicide rates consistently over the national average, journalists and researchers have examined everything from the causes of domestic violence, it’s impetus within a person and its cultural influences, to the way that law enforcement and the judicial system handle cases presented to them. South Carolina’s patriarchal background and traditional perspective on gender relations certainly play a role in the high rates of domestic violence in the state, and other cultural factors that could affect the prevalence of abuse. …

Legal Marketing Through The Decades: Pitfalls Of Current Marketing Trends, Tanya M. Marcum, Elizabeth A. Campbell

St. Mary's Journal on Legal Malpractice & Ethics

Historically, states did not place restrictions on advertising by professionals; it was not until the beginning of the twentieth century that jurisdictions began to enact prohibitions on marketing of professional services. Eventually, the U.S. Supreme Court recognized the right of professionals to advertise their services and has continued to define the right in the decades since. While lawyers have long advertised in traditional media, such as billboards and television, thanks to the exploding popularity of social media websites like Facebook and Twitter, the available platforms lawyers may use to market their services will continue to multiply.

New and creative approaches …

Pomegranate Juice Can Do That? Navigating The Jurisdictional Landscape Of Food Health Claim Regulation In A Post-Pom Wonderful World, Hilary G. Buttrick, Courtney Droms Hatch

Scholarship and Professional Work - Business

Thirty years ago, the most the consumer expected out of his or her morning glass of juice was a little extra vitamin C. By 2010, the consumer expected a lot more. POM Wonderful’s pomegranate juice, for instance, promised to improve cardiovascular health, treat erectile dysfunction, and combat prostate cancer.¹ Those claims made orange juice look a little pathetic. Of course, those wild promises also landed POM Wonderful in hot water with the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) for misleading the public with scientifically unsubstantiated health claims.²

The Digital Dionysus: Nietzsche & The Network-Centric Condition

Dan Mellamphy

No abstract provided.