In 2015, the Wall Street Journal observed why Birkenstock sandals might be considered cool: “It’s a taboo thing,” said New York-based stylist Brian Coats, who dresses Jimmy Fallon....more
Title? Typo? Cryptic code? Equation? Really it is a combination of three of the four. In other words, it is not a typo (You can look elsewhere in this piece for those)....more
5/9/2024
/ Artificial Intelligence ,
Copyright ,
Copyright Infringement ,
Deep Fake ,
Endorsements ,
Fair Use ,
Intellectual Property Protection ,
Online Platforms ,
Political Campaigns ,
Political Candidates ,
Robocalling ,
Trademarks ,
Transformative Use ,
Video ,
Willful Infringement
“[T]he comma…this capricious bit of punctuation…” United States v. Ron Pair Enterprises, Inc., 489 US 235, 249 (1989) (O’Connor, J, dissenting). For want of a comma, we have this case.” O’Connor et al. v. Oakhurst Dairy et...more
Fiction writing has a curious claim on truth. We learn this at the youngest age, listening to fairy tales when the child in us “intuitively comprehends that, although these stories are unreal, they are not untrue …” ...more
The phrase “make your mark on history” is a commonplace one with several meanings and connotations.
It is one offered at many high school and college commencement speeches as an exhortation to graduates to have an impact...more
The question of whether a would-be trademark, “TRUMP TOO SMALL,” warrants a First Amendment exception to the Lanham Act’s prohibition on registering a living person’s name as a trademark without that person’s permission has...more
6/19/2023
/ CAFC ,
Certiorari ,
Constitutional Challenges ,
First Amendment ,
Free Speech ,
Lanham Act ,
Public Figures ,
SCOTUS ,
Trademark Registration ,
Trademarks ,
USPTO
“Yes, the law is about words…,” says Ben Chiriboga in writing about the essential skills that lawyers must have. And Ken White noted more recently that “the entire project of the law is about words meaning specific things.”...more
Lots of people are talking about ChatGPT.
Some, like those at Microsoft, see it as a valuable tool to be integrated into their products and platforms; indeed, one of its lawyers thought that the answer provided by ChatGPT...more
2/2/2023
/ Artificial Intelligence ,
Certiorari ,
Consumer Confusion ,
Dilution ,
Fair Use ,
First Amendment ,
Free Speech ,
Intellectual Property Protection ,
Lanham Act ,
Rogers Test ,
Trademark Infringement ,
Trademark Litigation ,
Trademarks
As I recently noted in an article on trademarks in the U.S. and internationally, Metro-Goldin-Mayer and Pennsylvania State University are two entities in different, yet related, channels of trade (sports and entertainment,...more
So, there you go—Metro Goldwyn Mayer and Pennsylvania State University are two different entities each associated with a distinctive roar connected to their institution. They are marketed through different, yet related,...more
In a recent article examining international trademark, copyright and related issues, we started with a focus on the place humor holds as a possible defense. To understand the roots of the penchant for humor to act as a...more
Many cultures have the tradition of spring cleaning. These range from those in Iran observing the Persian New Year festival of Nowruz (and the practice of “khooneh tekouni,” or “shaking the house” to prepare for Nowruz), to...more
4/20/2022
/ Copyright ,
Copyright Infringement ,
Copyright Litigation ,
Intellectual Property Litigation ,
Intellectual Property Protection ,
Patent Infringement ,
Patent Litigation ,
Patents ,
Trade Secrets ,
Trademark Infringement ,
Trademark Litigation ,
Trademarks
Interesting question: Can someone trademark another person’s name without that person’s consent? The answer to that is usually “no,” but, hey, we would not be the first people to say that we live in interesting times. And if...more
The title of this piece tracks a common “phrase of exasperation used to emphasize a question or statement.” If that be the case, and I think it is, then the subtitle implies the question this piece will address. That question...more
On December 4, 2019, the Scotch Whiskey Association filed opposition to the trademark application of ASW Distillery LLC, an Atlanta distiller, that was seeking the mark BURNS NIGHT for an American malt whiskey, noticeably...more
1/16/2020
/ Country of Origin ,
Deceptively Misdescriptive ,
Failure To State A Claim ,
Motion to Dismiss ,
Poetry ,
Scotland ,
Trademark Application ,
Trademark Opposition Proceedings ,
Trademarks ,
USPTO ,
Wine & Alcohol
Springsteen.
Sinatra.
Chuck Wepner (for at least one night in 1975 and then through the “Rocky” avatar).
At least some of the people that rest stops on the New Jersey Turnpike are named after.
These public figures...more
7/30/2019
/ Celebrities ,
Commercial Appropriation ,
Common Law Torts ,
Copyright ,
Intellectual Property Protection ,
International Litigation ,
Privacy Torts ,
Right of Publicity ,
State Law Claims ,
Trademarks ,
TRIPS Agreement ,
Unfair Competition ,
WIPO
There is a popular vintage Harley Davidson t-shirt that says “Tough Guys Finish First.” That may be true. But, sometimes, to finish first, one does not need more tough guys; one needs more lawyers, as a crime-related matter...more
3/13/2019
/ Asset Seizure ,
Collective Marks ,
Constitutional Challenges ,
Criminal Convictions ,
Criminal Forfeiture ,
Criminal Proceeds ,
Due Process ,
First Amendment ,
Freedom of Association ,
Freedom of Expression ,
Indictments ,
Intellectual Property Protection ,
Jury Verdicts ,
Motorcycle Clubs ,
Murder ,
Plea Agreements ,
RICO ,
Sentencing Enhancements ,
Service Marks ,
Trademark Registration ,
Trademarks ,
Unincorporated Associations ,
USPTO