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Death Of A Salesman's Doctrine : A Critical Look At Trademark Use, Michael Henry Davis

Law Faculty Articles and Essays

A trademark is a salesman. It does the work of its owner by wearing a smile, by presenting a good image, and in Willy Loman's words, by being well liked. It is, of course, the usual view that the death of the salesman, Willy Loman, was a suicide. Due to the assault upon the requirement of prior trademark use and the growth of a token use doctrine, what happened to Willy Loman has happened to the trademark use doctrine. In the end, it seemed too expensive and it was killed off—partially by its own hand, due to its own internal …