Trademark Law Jody Blanke Professor Computer Information Systems

Зарегистрируйтесь, чтобы просмотреть полный документ!

Trademark Law Jody Blanke, Professor Computer Information Systems and Law 1

Trademark Law Combination of federal and state law Authority of federal law derives from regulation of interstate commerce Authority of state law derives from regulation of intrastate commerce 2

Protects Dual Interests Protects trademark owner’s interest in brand name value and good will Protects consumers from confusion 3

Trademarks can be … Words Phrases Symbols Sounds Colors Smells 4

586 Intel learned that you cannot trademark numbers themselves Pentium can be trademarked You can trademark 7 -Up Three-peat 5

Generics 6

Generics Dixie Cups Frisbee Hi-Liter Kitty Litter Kleenex Magic Marker Ping-Pong Popsicle Scotch Tape Sheetrock TV Dinners Wiffle Ball Cellophane Corn Flakes Dry Ice Lanolin Mimeograph Monopoly Pogo Stick Raisin Bran Shredded Wheat Thermos Toll House Trampoline 7

Strength of Protection 1. Fanciful 2. Arbitrary 3. Suggestive e. g. , Kodak, Atari, Exxon e. g. , Apple, Amazon 4. e. g. , Compaq, Dairy Queen Descriptive (must acquire a secondary meaning) e. g. , Computerland, Ben & Jerrys 5. Generic e. g. , aspirin, elevator 8

Trademark Infringement “Likelihood of confusion” standard Court looks at factors like similarity of goods sophistication of consumers length of time that mark has been used wrongful intent 9

Lexus/Lexis Mead Data Corp. sued Toyota in 1989 Toyota won court found little chance of confusion perspective luxury car buyer won’t come home with a legal database instead and vice versa 10

Trademark Dilution Federal Trademark Dilution Act of 1996 prior to 1996, 28 states had anti-dilution laws Under the Trademark Dilution Revision Act of 2006, must show “famous” mark – as "widely recognized by the general consuming public of the United States” “likelihood of dilution” 11

Google Sandwich Shoppe Makes a great sandwich Becomes very popular “Let’s go to Google” dilution by blurring But after the very unfortunate e-coli incident dilution by tarnishment 12

Lexus/Lexis Revisited Would there be infringement today? Would there be dilution today? 13

Web Domain Names New frontier for trademark law Early “entrepreneurs” registered www. mtv. com www. abc. com www. sex. com Today we call them cybersquatters 14