Intellectual Property Law Commons^™

Non-Traditional Trademarks: The Error Costs Of Making An Exception The Rule, Glynn Lunney

Faculty Scholarship

Over the last sixty years, courts and the USPTO have engaged in an ill-advised expansion of trademark subject matter. Where once only words or emblems attached to a product could serve as a trademark, today a product’s design or packaging itself may receive such protection. This expansion was and is a mistake. There may indeed be rare cases where a product’s design or packaging conveys brand-specific information and could receive protection without impairing competitor’s ability to offer substitutes. Such cases are the exception and not the rule, however. Extending the strong legal presumptions and property-like protection trademark law provides to …

The Myth Of Uniformity In Ip Laws, Sharon K. Sandeen

Journal of Intellectual Property Law

When Congress enacts federal laws, it is often because of the asserted benefits of a “uniform” law and the, often unspoken, assumption that federal laws are somehow more uniform than uniform state laws. Infact, the uniformity argument was a primary justification for theenactment of both the Defend Trade Secrets Act of 2016 and the EU Trade Secret Directive.

The quest for uniformity, particularly with respect to laws that relate to intellectual property rights, is an old story in the United States. During the drafting of the U.S. Constitution, the existence of inconsistent state laws was a central reason for the …

Makeup Dupes And Fair Use, Samantha Primeaux

American University Law Review

No abstract provided.

2017 Trademark Law Decisions Of The Federal Circuit, Anita B. Polott, Rachel E. Fertig

American University Law Review

No abstract provided.

U.S. Supreme Court Surveys: 2016 Term. Matal V. Tam: Free Speech Meets "Disparaging" Trademarks In The Supreme Court, Niki Kuckes

Law Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Lookalike Logos: Is A High School's Use Of A Logo Or Insignia Similar To That Of A University A Violation Under The Lanham Act, Keegan Girodo

Marquette Sports Law Review

None

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. …

U.S. Supreme Court Surveys: 2016 Term. Matal V. Tam: Free Speech Meets "Disparaging" Trademarks In The Supreme Court, Niki Kuckes

Roger Williams University Law Review

No abstract provided.