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Full-Text Articles in Law
Ip Basics: Trademarks And Business Goodwill, Thomas G. Field Jr.
Ip Basics: Trademarks And Business Goodwill, Thomas G. Field Jr.
Law Faculty Scholarship
This is information all business owners need if they wish to preserve their hard-won goodwill. It discusses, for example, the important differences between strong and weak marks for products and services, the value of state and federal registrations and the importance of searches (to avoid wasting money).
Counterfeits, Copying And Class, Ann Bartow
Counterfeits, Copying And Class, Ann Bartow
Law Faculty Scholarship
Consumers who want to express themselves by wearing contemporary clothing styles should not have to choose between expensive brands and counterfeit products. There should be a clear distinction in trademark law between illegal, counterfeit goods and perfectly legal (at least with respect to trademark law) "knockoffs," in which aesthetically functional design attributes have been copied but trademarks have not. Toward that end, as a normative matter, the aesthetic features of products should not be registrable or protectable as trademarks or trade dress, regardless of whether they have secondary meaning, just as functional attributes of a utilitarian nature are not eligible …
Calling Bulls**T On The Lanham Act: The 2(A) Bar For Immoral, Scandalous, And Disparaging Marks, Megan M. Carpenter, Kathryn T. Murphy
Calling Bulls**T On The Lanham Act: The 2(A) Bar For Immoral, Scandalous, And Disparaging Marks, Megan M. Carpenter, Kathryn T. Murphy
Law Faculty Scholarship
As the Lanham Act approaches the age of 65, it is a good time to take stock of its application to, and place within, the object and purpose of trademark law. Trademark law seeks to promote fair competition by reducing consumer search costs and preventing confusion in the minds of consumers as to the source of goods and services. However, Section 2(a) of the Lanham Act prevents registration of marks that are “immoral,” “scandalous,” “disparaging,” “deceptive,” or which “create a false association” with persons, institutions, beliefs, or national symbols. The 2(a) bar expands trademark law well beyond its basic goals. …
New-School Trademark Dilution: Famous Among The Juvenile Consuming Public, Alexandra J. Roberts
New-School Trademark Dilution: Famous Among The Juvenile Consuming Public, Alexandra J. Roberts
Law Faculty Scholarship
The recently enacted Trademark Dilution Revision Act of 2006 recalibrated the degree of fame necessary to garner protection: the TDRA applies only to a mark "widely recognized by the general consuming public of the United States as a designation of source of the goods or services of the mark’s owner." By privileging those major players who succeed in turning their brands into household names, the TDRA strengthens incentives for mark-owners to ensure their logos and brand names are well-recognized not only among adult consumers, but also among children. This Article examines a set of marketing behaviors aimed at children that …
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 …