Intellectual Property Law Commons^™

The Trademark As A Novel Innovation Index, Brian J. Focarino

The Journal of Business, Entrepreneurship & the Law

When studying the relationship that exists between entrepreneurship and intellectual property, patents receive the most scholarly attention. The attention makes sense when we consider that patents are closely associated with technical progress, grant temporary monopolies that incentivize investment in research & development (R&D), and function as vectors of technological dissemination in and of themselves. In a number of industries however, conventional forms of innovation often associated with patenting are minimal or missing altogether, and require us to look elsewhere to discern innovative behavior. This Essay highlights novel applications for trademark law to entrepreneurial activity in low-technology industries and low-financing locations …

Andy Warhol's Pantry, Brian L. Frye

Akron Intellectual Property Journal

This Article examines Andy Warhol’s use of food and food products as a metaphor for commerce and consumption. It observes that Warhol’s use of images and marks was often inconsistent with copyright and trademark doctrine, and suggests that the fair use doctrine should incorporate a “Warhol test.”

Food Patents: The Unintended Consequences, Jay Dratler Jr.

Akron Intellectual Property Journal

This short paper explores the unintended consequences of this strong economic incentive. The underlying assumptions of patent law and its economic incentive are that innovation is good, and newer is better. But is that always so? Science and history suggest maybe not, for some very fundamental reasons. And there are reasons to believe that the risks of unintended consequences of innovation in food may be more hazardous than those in other fields of innovation.

Ttab Decisions No Longer The “Red-Headed Stepchild” Of Precedential Authority, Rebecca Knight

The University of Cincinnati Intellectual Property and Computer Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Resolving Priority Disputes In Intellectual Property Collateral, Paul Heald

Georgia Journal of Law & Technology

No abstract provided.

Internationalization And Local Elements: Research On Recent Amendments To The Trademark Law Of China, Xiaoqing Feng

Akron Intellectual Property Journal

This article will explore varying aspects of the amendments of the Chinese Trademark Law. Part Two deals with detailed analysis and the reasons for the third amendment of the Trademark Law; this part is composed of five sections. The first section discusses the perfection of the application system for trademark registration, including the increase of the number of elements eligible for trademark registration, the implementation of “one trademark for multi categories,” the improvement of the system of opposition, the introduction of a proposal review system, and the availability for submitting electronic applications. The second section discusses (1) the improvement of …

Ip And Health Care: New Drugs Pricing And Medical Mistakes, Jay Dratler Jr.

Akron Intellectual Property Journal

I propose to address briefly two important IP questions from an economic perspective: patented drug pricing in an international context and trade secret protection for health care outcomes. The first will involve some algebra; the second involves a bit of common sense that so far seems to have eluded us.

Trademarks In 2010 (And 2011): Dilution Takes Center Stage, David S. Welkowitz

Akron Intellectual Property Journal

From the hundreds of trademark cases decided in any year, it is often difficult to discern any particular theme. There are cases from many different areas raising very disparate issues. In 2010, however, trademark dilution stands out as the area with the most prominent doctrinal opinions. In addition to three court of appeals decisions, there were five significant Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (“TTAB”) decisions from an entity whose prior involvement in dilution had been very much the exception. These dilution opinions form the centerpiece of this discussion.

There were, of course, other notable decisions involving contributory infringement and the …

The Ethics Of Deception: Pretext Investigations In Trademark Cases, Phillip Barengolts

Akron Intellectual Property Journal

Pretext investigations of trademark infringement usually implicate one or more of four rules of professional responsibility: truthful communications, communications with adverse parties represented by counsel, communications with parties unrepresented by counsel, and the prohibition of deceptive behavior. There is an additional rule on using paralegals or non-lawyer assistants to do the actual investigation which also comes into play on occasion.

Checks, Balance And Judicial Wizardry: Constitutional Delegation And Congressional Legislation, Robert I. Reis

Akron Intellectual Property Journal

Recent Supreme Court activity regarding "intellectual property" may lead some to believe the increase in cases has some further meaning beyond the decisions themselves. The interests they represent and the source of power to enact legislation in the field raise distinct issues that may inform of current judicial interest and concern. These don't necessarily delineate the constitutional role of the Court relative to the delegation under Article I, Section Eight, Clause 8 of the United States Constitution. A gathering of cases using conventional search resources and techniques yielded 666 patent cases and 73 copyright cases. This essay is not intended …

What Is The Mclaw In Malaysia?, Amy Moscato-Wolter

Akron Intellectual Property Journal

This article will discuss the extent of protection given to McDonald's interest in the prefix "Mc" in the United States as a result of the case McDonald's Corp. v. Druck & Gerner, D.D.S., P.C., d/bla McDental (hereinafter McDental), where it was determined that the "Mc" family of marks can even be protected when affixed to the name of a generic non-food item. Such success, however, has not been matched in other parts of the world. I will also discuss McCurry Restaurant (KL) Sdn Bhd v. McDonalds Corp. (hereinafter McCurry), where a Malaysian court determined that the "Mc" prefix coupled …

Federal Trademark Remedies: A Proposal For Reform, Mark A. Thurmon

Akron Intellectual Property Journal

It is time to take this problem seriously and reform the remedial rules of the Lanham Act. This article presents a specific proposal for reform that includes the following key changes:

• statutory damages are available as an alternative to actual damages, and this new remedy is available to prevailing trademark owners in all actions under the Lanham Act;
• the defendant's profits remedy is limited to those profits attributable to the infringement, but this remedy is available to prevailing trademark owners in all actions under the Lanham Act (i.e., proof of willful infringement or some other type of bad faith is …

Trademarks And Related Rights: Highlights For 2009-10, David S. Welkowitz

Akron Intellectual Property Journal

However, the most important part of the [Rescuecom Corp. v. Google, Inc.] opinion was not the decision itself, or its reasoning. Rather, it was the Appendix that the court annexed to its opinion that made the decision extraordinary. As law students, we are all taught that federal courts will not issue advisory opinions. But it is difficult to view the Rescuecom Appendix as anything other than an advisory opinion. And its breadth is rather sweeping. The court embarked on a fairly lengthy discussion of the history and purpose of the “use in commerce” definition. It concluded that it …

An Introduction To U.S. Export Control: Regulations For Patent Practitioners, Michael K. Carrier

Akron Intellectual Property Journal

This article presents basic information on the U.S. export control laws most relevant to U.S. patent practice, including the preparation and filing of patent applications related to commercial items, and the intended audience of this article is the U.S. patent practitioner who does not routinely deal with export-controlled subject matter. If the patent practitioner intends to: export technical information from the U.S. for the purpose of having a patent application prepared; hire or work with foreign nationals (who may or may not actually be in the U.S.) in conducting technical research or patentability and invalidity searches; or help prepare patent …

Toward Non-Neutral First Principles Of Private Law: Designing Secondary Liability Rules For New Technological Uses, Thomas C. Folsom

Akron Intellectual Property Journal

A series of recent cases revisits secondary liability in intellectual property law, solving some particular problems but without providing completely specified rules that are predictable and principled. Prior law already includes several varieties of secondary liability with a rationale for each. Together, these old and new sources point the way towards a synthesis, which may allow for a designed solution that is more fully specified, at least in respect of new technological uses. When all is said, secondary liability in intellectual property law still turns on two essential questions: (1) is there someone who is liable for direct infringement, and …

Ip Remedies After Ebay: Assessing The Impact On Trademark Law, Sandra Rierson

Akron Intellectual Property Journal

The Supreme Court's decision in eBay Inc. v. MercExchange, L.L.C. changed the law regarding remedies in patent cases - specifically the "general rule... that a permanent injunction will issue once infringement and validity have been adjudged. Prior to eBay, the Federal Circuit held that injunctive relief was an inappropriate remedy for patent infringement only in a narrow category of cases in which enjoining an infringer would frustrate an important public interest. The Supreme Court rejected that assumption, holding instead that plaintiffs seeking this form of remedy for patent infringement were required to satisfy the traditional, four-factor test for injunctive relief. …

Truth In Intellectual Property Revisited: Embracing Ebay At The Edge, Thomas C. Folsom

Akron Intellectual Property Journal

In addition to whatever else it might do to serve the public interest, intellectual property diminishes the commons. To that extent, any particular intellectual property claim intersects the public interest and affects more than just the immediate parties. Not only does intellectual property diminish the commons, but also each of its disciplines contains an almost casually incoherent metaphysic. There is incoherence, if not at the core, at least at the critical edges of intellectual property law that is systemic and fundamental. Notwithstanding over 200 years of practice in the United States, the goal of establishing a sufficiently principled, practical and …

Passing The Virtual Buck: How The Ninth Circuit Used Contributory Trademark Law To Expand Liability For Web Hosts, Alessandra Backus

Georgia Journal of Law & Technology

No abstract provided.

Convergence After All? A Comparative View On The U.S. And Eu Trademark System In The Light Of The "Trade Mark Study", Annette Kur

Georgia Journal of Law & Technology

No abstract provided.

"Leave Little Guys Alone!": Protecting Small Businesses From Overly Litigious Corporations And Trademark Infringement Suits, Sara Marie Andrzejewski

Georgia Journal of Law & Technology

No abstract provided.

Collecting Attorneys' Fees Under The Lanham Act: The Shifting Definition Of An "Exceptional Case", Kevin R. Miller, Brian M. Block

Seton Hall Circuit Review

No abstract provided.

A "Sunbeam" Of Hope: The Seventh Circuit's Solution Overcoming Disparaging Treatment To Trademark Licenses Under The Bankruptcy Code, Jarrod N. Cone

Georgia Journal of Law & Technology

No abstract provided.

Requiring Plaintiffs To Prove Irreparable Harm: “It Isn’T Right.” (Herb Reed Enters, Llc V. Fla Entm’T Mgmt. Inc. (9th Cir.2013)), Anthony Kremer

The University of Cincinnati Intellectual Property and Computer Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Trademark's Ebay Problem, Peter J. Karol

Law Faculty Scholarship

This article explores the upheaval created within trademark law by eBay, Inc. v. MercExchange, L.L.C., asking why a simple doctrinal question (Should a patent remedies rule be extended to trademark cases?) has posed such problems for the courts. After a thorough review of past and present trademark injunction practice, and the Lanham Act’s legislative history, it finds that trademark law’s inability to assimilate eBay stems from unresolved substantive conflicts in the underlying legislation itself. In short, because the drafters could not settle on the proper scope of a federal trademark right, they hedged by granting a national exclusive right limited …

Unh School Of Law Ip Library: 20th Anniversary Reflection On The Only Academic Ip Library In The United States, Jon R. Cavicchi

Law Faculty Scholarship

[Excerpt] The UNH School of Law Intellectual Property Library celebrates its twentieth anniversary this year. It is a fortuitous time for this look back and for strategic considerations for the future. This anniversary comes at a time in the history of legal education when conditions over the past few years have intensified the analysis of mission and resources for law school libraries. This article is a retrospective review of the history and dynamics surrounding the founding and first twenty years of growth. It is also an analysis of the future growth and mission of the IP Library during times that …

Keeping Tabs: When Will Ttab Decisions Have Preclusive Effect? Preclusive Effect Of T.T.A.B. Likelihood Of Confusion Decisions After B&B; V. Hargis Industries, Brendan J. Ketchum

Chicago-Kent Journal of Intellectual Property

No abstract provided.

Copyrights And Trademarks In Cyberspace: A Legal And Economic Analysis, Georgios I. Zekos

Chicago-Kent Journal of Intellectual Property

No abstract provided.

Color Blocking: How The Harmonization Of Color Protection May Catalyze Color Depletion In Global Markets, Arsha Hasan

Indiana Journal of Global Legal Studies

The Qualitex decision in 1995 inspired trademark reformation and harmonization worldwide for the protection of color marks. While protecting color trademarks has not created issues of market entry in domestic markets, the growth in the number of transnational market participants and an increased utilization of non-traditional branding may catalyze color depletion in international trade. After exploring how current advertising expenditure requirements and distinctiveness requirements affect the registrability and protection of a color mark, this Note offers potential global reforms to help minimize hurdles for small scale transnational participants and the threat of international color depletion. Specifically, due to consumers' increasing …

Fairer Uses, Jessica Silbey

Faculty Scholarship

A response to Professor Joseph Liu’s paper on Fair Use, Notice Failure, and the Limits of Copyright as Property, this essay challenges Professor Liu to go even farther in his analysis and protection of the everyday audience of copyright works. In describing and analyzing what I term “fairer uses” on the basis of qualitative data from interviews of artists and authors who make and rely on copyrighted works for their own creativity and professional well-being, I support Professor Liu’s advocacy for maintaining “fuzzy boundaries” of fair use. Based on evidence from grounded practice of professional creators, their expansive application …

Ip Litigation In U.S. District Courts: 1994-2014, Matthew Sag

Faculty Articles

This Article undertakes a broad-based empirical review of intellectual property ("IP") litigation in U.S. federal district courts from 1994 to 2014. Unlike the prior literature, this study analyzes federal copyright, patent, and trademark litigation trends as a unified whole. It undertakes a systematic analysis of the records of more than 190,000 cases filed in federal courts and examines the subject matter, geographical, and temporal variation within federal IP litigation over the last two decades.

This Article analyzes changes in the distribution of IP litigation over time and their regional distribution. The key findings of this Article stem from an attempt …