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Full-Text Articles in Law
Trademark Law, Functional Design Features, And The Trouble With Traffix, Harold R. Weinberg
Trademark Law, Functional Design Features, And The Trouble With Traffix, Harold R. Weinberg
Law Faculty Scholarly Articles
This article concerns trademark law's functionality doctrine and the Supreme Court's troublesome opinion concerning it in TrafFix Devices, Inc. v. Marketing Displays, Inc. The doctrine provides that if a producer's useful or aesthetic design feature is "functional," then competitors can lawfully copy it even if the feature otherwise would be protected against copying by trademark principles. In order to introduce the functionality doctrine and the trouble with TrafFix, it is helpful to describe the nature of design features, the simultaneous roles they may play as source-identifying trade symbols and as useful or aesthetic product elements, and trademark law's place …
The United States Court Of Appeals For The Federal Circuit: The Promise And Perils Of A Court Of Limited Jurisdiction , Randall R. Rader
The United States Court Of Appeals For The Federal Circuit: The Promise And Perils Of A Court Of Limited Jurisdiction , Randall R. Rader
Marquette Intellectual Property Law Review
Honorable Randall Rader, of the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit discusses current criticisms of the Federal Circuit and the speed of which the Circuit sets precedent. Before addressing these issues, Judge Rader posits a belief that the standard by which the Circuit is being judged is incorrect. Judge Rader's speech gives a foundation by which a correct standard should be exacted, examples of the current atmosphere leading to the precedents being set, and generally addresses why the Federal Circuit is fundamentally unique from other jurisdictions.
The Trademark Registration System In Japan: A Firsthand Review And Exposition , Masaya Suzuki
The Trademark Registration System In Japan: A Firsthand Review And Exposition , Masaya Suzuki
Marquette Intellectual Property Law Review
One current topic of trademark law that has become a major issue in recent years is foreign trademark rights. The business world is shrinking, and large international outfits need to protect the goodwill in their trademarks on a global scale. The key to gaining international trademark rights is in understanding foreign countries' trademark systems. Masaya Suzuki, a trademark examiner in the Japanese Patent Office, offers insight to the Japanese trademark system. Mr. Suzuki provides a history of Japanese trademark law and rationales for the current system. He explains the workings of the system on a step-by-step basis giving the structure …
Measuring Fame: The Use Of Empirical Evidence In Dilution Actions , Adam Omar Shanti
Measuring Fame: The Use Of Empirical Evidence In Dilution Actions , Adam Omar Shanti
Marquette Intellectual Property Law Review
Adam Omar Shanti explores the concepts of dilution and famousness under Trademark Law. Dilution is a protection afforded "famous" trademarks by the Lanham Act. In essence, it prevents the usage of marks on dissimilar items that resemble a famous mark to prevent the "gradual whittling away or dispersion of the identity and hold upon the public mind." Dilution can occur by 1) blurring, 2) tarnishment, or 3) alteration. To determine whether a mark is "famous", eight subjective criteria are evaluated, which often produces inconsistencies among the courts. Mr. Shanti argues that an empirically derived test for fame must be created …
The Rise And Fall Of Fences: The Overbroad Protection Of The Anticybersquatting Consumer Protection Act , Jonathan M. Ward
The Rise And Fall Of Fences: The Overbroad Protection Of The Anticybersquatting Consumer Protection Act , Jonathan M. Ward
Marquette Intellectual Property Law Review
Jonathan Ward discusses viability of two means for resolution of disputes related to cybersquatting. Cybersquatting occurs when a party registers a domain name that contains someone else's trademark and then attempts to profit by selling or licensing the name to that party. Cybersquatting tends to be classified as direct cybersquatting and typosquatting, and actions involving domain name conflicts fall in four categories: 1) trademark infringement, 2) confusion of source, 3) dilution of a famous mark, and 4) bad faith registration. Recognizing the growing issue of cybersquatting, Congress passed the Anitcybersquatting Consumer Protection Act in 1999, which provided a litigious avenue …
On-Line Tutorial Project: Intellectual Property In E-Commerce, William J. Murphy
On-Line Tutorial Project: Intellectual Property In E-Commerce, William J. Murphy
Law Faculty Scholarship
Copyrights, Trademarks and Patents make up most of the area of law known as Intellectual Property. Intellectual Property's importance in Electronic Commerce is difficult to overstate. The Internet has been defined as a global network of networks through which computers communicate by sending information in packets, and each network consists of computers connected by cables or wireless links. It is the Intellectual Property laws of Copyright, Trademark and Patents that are attempting to harmonize the effects that E-Commerce and the Internet have had on the individual's ability to access and use this information. It should be remembered that most countries …