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Full-Text Articles in Intellectual Property Law
Thou Shalt Not Steele: Reexamining The Extraterritorial Reach Of The Lanham Act, James C. Gracey
Thou Shalt Not Steele: Reexamining The Extraterritorial Reach Of The Lanham Act, James C. Gracey
Vanderbilt Journal of Entertainment & Technology Law
US courts have applied domestic trademark law to actions taken outside of the United States's borders for years, but the US Supreme Court recently revamped the presumption against extraterritoriality, a canon of statutory interpretation. The presumption against extraterritoriality promotes a judicial means of respecting the sovereignty of foreign states by disallowing the application of domestic law to foreign acts. However, the Supreme Court interpreted the Lanham Act, the United States's domestic trademark law, to have extraterritorial reach in Bulova Watch Co. v. Steele. This Note traces the recent evolution and strengthening of the presumption before analyzing how circuit courts have …
Behind The Steele Curtain: An Empirical Study Of Trademark Conflicts Law, 1952-2016, Tim W. Dornis
Behind The Steele Curtain: An Empirical Study Of Trademark Conflicts Law, 1952-2016, Tim W. Dornis
Vanderbilt Journal of Entertainment & Technology Law
The law on international trademark disputes is founded on precedent from 1952. Steele v. Bulova Watch Co. is the first and only Supreme Court decision addressing the question of how far the Lanham Act should be extended beyond the United States' national borders when international infringement is at issue. The decision laid the foundation for a three-pronged test that focuses on the factors of defendant nationality, effects on US commerce, and conflicts with foreign law. Although international trademark conflicts have multiplied dramatically--particularly throughout the last decade--there has been no systematic and comprehensive account of the actual state of the law. …
Guantanamo's Greatest Hits: The Semiotics Of Sound And The Protection Of Performer Rights Under The Lanham Act, John Tehranian
Guantanamo's Greatest Hits: The Semiotics Of Sound And The Protection Of Performer Rights Under The Lanham Act, John Tehranian
Vanderbilt Journal of Entertainment & Technology Law
As Bruce Springsteen and Ronald Reagan, Jackson Brown and John McCain, and Tom Morello and Paul Ryan can attest, the exploitation of creative works for political or commercial purposes that run contrary to artists' ideals can stir passions and trigger lawsuits. Yet for performers who are not authors of the exploited works, there is little meaningful legal relief provided by the federal Copyright Act. Instead, such performers--from featured singers and dancers to actors and other personalities known for their distinctive traits--have leaned on alternative theories for recovery, thereby raising the specter of liability outside of copyright law for such unwelcome …
D.I.Y. After Dastar: Protecting Creators' Moral Rights Through Creative Lawyering, Individual Contracts And Collectively Bargained Agreements, Rick Mortensen
D.I.Y. After Dastar: Protecting Creators' Moral Rights Through Creative Lawyering, Individual Contracts And Collectively Bargained Agreements, Rick Mortensen
Vanderbilt Journal of Entertainment & Technology Law
Part I examines the scope of Dastar and argues that it is sufficiently narrow to permit some false attribution claims based on section 43(a) of the Lanham Act. As support, Part I examines district court cases after Dastar as well as pre-Dastar attribution cases that are still arguably good law. Part II examines the Second Circuit case of Gilliam v. ABC, Inc., in which the Monty Python comedy troupe successfully enjoined ABC from showing a mutilated copy of its work, as a model for pursuing right of integrity claims. Part II will show that this case is still good law, …
Parallel Importation--Legitimate Goods Or Trademark Infringement?, W. Weldon Wilson
Parallel Importation--Legitimate Goods Or Trademark Infringement?, W. Weldon Wilson
Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law
Conflicts in interpretations of section 42 of the Lanham Act and section 526 of the Tariff Act of 1930 have led to divergent results in several federal courts. Although advocates on each side of the controversy present valid arguments supporting their positions, the dispute should be resolved by analyzing the purpose of the Lanham Act and the Tariff Act. The goal of these acts is protection of consumers and United States industry. Strict application of these statutes would achieve this result. Parallel imports provide goods at lower prices but confuse the consumer as to the origin of the goods and …