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Full-Text Articles in Law
Acquiring A Flavor For Trademarks, Amanda E. Compton
Acquiring A Flavor For Trademarks, Amanda E. Compton
Amanda E. Compton
This paper considers the viability of registering “flavor” as a trademark based on the decision in In re N.V. Organon. Nontraditional trademarks have long been accepted in the United States, and the possibility of being able to protect flavor as a trademark is on the horizon. In 2002, N.V. Organon, a global manufacturer of an array of prescription medicines, filed a trademark application to register “an orange flavor” for “pharmaceuticals for human use, namely, antidepressants in quick-dissolving tablets and pills.” The Examining Attorney refused registration on two grounds: (1) the matter failed to function as a trademark; and (2) the …
Bad Faith In Cyberspace: Grounding Domain Name Theory In Trademark, Property, And Restitution, Jacqueline Lipton
Bad Faith In Cyberspace: Grounding Domain Name Theory In Trademark, Property, And Restitution, Jacqueline Lipton
Jacqueline D Lipton
The year 2009 marks the tenth anniversary of domain name regulation under the Anti-Cybersquatting Consumer Protection Act (ACPA) and the Uniform Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy (UDRP). Adopted to combat cybersquatting, these rules left a confused picture of domain name theory in their wake. Early cybersquatters registered Internet domain names corresponding with other’s trademarks to sell them for a profit. However, this practice was quickly and easily contained. New practices arose in domain name markets, not initially contemplated by the drafters of the ACPA and the UDRP. One example is clickfarming – using domain names to generate revenues from click-on …
An Empirical And Consumer Psychology Analysis Of Trademark Distinctiveness, Thomas R. Lee
An Empirical And Consumer Psychology Analysis Of Trademark Distinctiveness, Thomas R. Lee
Thomas R Lee
This article analyzes the taxonomy of trademark distinctiveness that has long been endorsed in the courts and scholarly commentary. This distinctiveness scale is routinely justified on the basis of an assumption about consumer psychology: that consumers perceive suggestive, arbitrary, or fanciful marks as source-indicating, but see descriptive marks as “merely descriptive.” Although this core premise of trademark law is a fundamental matter of consumer psychology, it has never been subjected to scrutiny under the light of consumer psychology theory and empirical analysis. We offer a consumer psychology model for questioning the law of distinctiveness (or “source indication”) and then test …
Consumer Investment In Trademarks, Deborah R. Gerhardt
Consumer Investment In Trademarks, Deborah R. Gerhardt
Deborah R Gerhardt
Consumer Investment in Trademarks This article introduces the consumer investment model as means to identify and protect twenty first century consumer interests in trademarks. Section I demonstrates why this model is necessary. Protecting consumer interests is the theoretical rationale for regulating trademarks. Theory and practice meshed well when the rights of trademark owners aligned with consumers. For example, both trademark owners and consumers are harmed when marks are used on low quality counterfeit goods. In cyberspace, this neat alignment often breaks apart. Many unauthorized uses, such as keyword advertising, benefit consumers but threaten owner control over marks. In order to …
To © Or Not To ©? Copyright And Innovation In The Digital Typeface Industry, Jacqueline D. Lipton
To © Or Not To ©? Copyright And Innovation In The Digital Typeface Industry, Jacqueline D. Lipton
Jacqueline D Lipton
Intellectual property rights are often justified by utilitarian theory. However, recent scholarship suggests that creativity thrives in some industries in the absence of intellectual property protection. These industries might be called IP’s negative spaces. One such industry that has received little scholarly attention is the typeface industry. This industry has recently digitized. Its adoption of digital processes has altered its market structure in ways that necessitate reconsideration of its IP negative status, with particular emphasis on copyright. This article considers the historical denial of copyright protection for typefaces in the United States, and examines arguments both for and against extending …
A Question Of Deference: Contrasting The Patent And Trademark Jurisdiction Of The Federal Circuit, Brian Dean Abramson
A Question Of Deference: Contrasting The Patent And Trademark Jurisdiction Of The Federal Circuit, Brian Dean Abramson
Brian Dean Abramson Esq.
This article details the various routes by which a patent or trademark matter may fall within the purview of the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, and the divergent jurisdictional approach taken by the Federal Circuit to these different areas of law. This article was a top five finalist out of 125 submissions to the Federal Circuit Bar Association’s 2009 George Hutchinson Writing Competition.