Intellectual Property Law Commons^™

Contextual Healing: What To Do About Scandalous Trademarks And Lanham Act 2(A), Megan M. Carpenter

Law Faculty Scholarship

Offensive trademarks have come to the forefront of trademark policy and practice in recent years. While it was once true that more attention had been paid to Lanham Act section 2(a) in the pages of law reviews than in the courts, recent prominent cases have focused attention on the ban on registration of offensive marks and the widespread impact of this ban on trademark owners.

In this Article, I answer the fundamental question: Given the problems that my previous research has identified, what should be done about the 2(a) bar on registration of scandalous trademarks? This Article argues, as a …

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. …

Space Age Love Song: The Mix Tape In A Digital Universe, Megan M. Carpenter

Law Faculty Scholarship

Music sharing is one of the most controversial topics in copyright law. And mix tapes have been the classic, iconic form of music sharing for the last 30 years. Even in the face of technological development so rapid and far-reaching as to remove the literal “tape” from “mix tape,” there are nonetheless modern incarnations that crop up on a regular basis, from mix CDs to mix-sharing websites. Social norms permit and even encourage the creation of these modern mix tapes for such diverse reasons as wedding favors and birthday gifts.

If copyright law is meant to promote creativity and proscribe …

The Rhetoric Of Predictability: Reclaiming The Lay Ear In Music Copyright Infringement Litigation, Austin Padgett

The University of New Hampshire Law Review

[Excerpt] “Some things cannot be described. This is the theory that recent literary criticism has placed as its cornerstone. Philosopher-critic Roland Barthes identified this trend in his Mythologies, stating that critics often “suddenly decide that the true subject of criticism is ineffable, and criticism, as a consequence, unnecessary. Unfortunately, this view has become singular within the legal academy whenever an author discusses music copyright infringement analysis. It seems that scholars fear the thought of trusting a jury with such an “ineffable” subject as music and must propose alternatives, such as expert testimony, specialized courts, or mechanical analysis, that will diminish …

The True Colors Of Trademark Law: Green-Lighting A Red Tide Of Anti Competition Blues, Ann Bartow

Law Faculty Scholarship

The elevation of color to stand-alone trademark status illustrates the unbounded nature of trademarks within the judicial consciousness. The availability of color-alone marks also facilitates the commoditization of color in ways that complicate the development and distribution of products and services that use color for multiple purposes conterminously. The economic case for color-alone trademarks is severely undermined by careful observation of the ways that colors are actually deployed in commerce, which makes it clear that the trademarks of multiple goods and services can utilize the same color to telegraph the same message without confusing anyone or diluting the commercial power …

Sold Downstream: Free Speech, Fair Use, And Anti-Circumvention Law, R. Terry Parker

The University of New Hampshire Law Review

[Excerpt] “Here’s a hypo. Living in Asia, I purchased a shameful amount of music and movies, all legit purchases through reputable stores, HMV and Tower Records, but little of which will get reissued. I wanted to preserve my collection but software in the discs prevented me from ripping backup copies to my computer. Lacking the technological savvy to get around this software myself, I purchased and used a product to help me circumvent these controls. Discuss.

Courts agree that copying the music and movies here is infringement but that fair use may provide a defense. However, courts do not agree …

Publishers' Rights And Wrongs In The Cyberage, Thomas G. Field Jr.

Law Faculty Scholarship

The author argues in favor of a continued role for traditional publishing in the context of the rise of the Internet.