Intellectual Property Law

Absolutely Non-Boring Patent Story!

Posted on June 30, 2010
Originally posted 2005-05-10 08:26:00. Republished by Old Post PromoterBill Heinze writes about Patent Terrorism and whether it fits into the model, oft discussed here, of improper use of the intellectual property system as a sort of arbitrage. Absolutely Non-Boring Patent Story! ©, .

Give the man credit

Posted on June 28, 2010
Judge Harold Baer of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York (the “home court” for LIKELIHOOD OF CONFUSION®)  has never been afraid to stick his neck out, at least a little bit.  He’s done it this time in the battle of, or rather by, the brands against trademark counterfeiting...

From Russia, without royalties

Posted on June 28, 2010
Originally posted 2007-07-17 22:59:01. Republished by Old Post Promoter The Kalashnikov rifle: Naked trademark licensing (?I take them into my hands and, my goodness, the marks are foreign,? [General Kalashnikov] said of the knockoffs the Soviet Union once championed...

First Amendment Lives on Campus (at least a little)

Posted on June 28, 2010
Originally posted 2005-09-19 11:22:52. Republished by Old Post PromoterThe online The New York Law Journal (sub. required) reports on an important free speech case: Vesting a student association with virtually unbridled discretion in doling out funds for campus organizations is a facial violation of the First Amendment because it implicitly permits the governing body to [...

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“Behind the Mask” – Likelihood of occlusion

Posted on June 28, 2010
Originally posted 2007-03-03 21:57:39. Republished by Old Post PromoterHope you enjoyed the lunar eclipse! Happy PuRiM! “Behind the Mask” – Likelihood of occlusion ©, .

Clever slogan, yes. Trademark, no.

Posted on June 28, 2010
Originally posted 2008-02-07 15:20:15. Republished by Old Post PromoterDespite the impression you might get around here, being a big company doesn’t mean you have to always be wrong — or even always be the pursuer — in an IP dispute...

10th Cir. on DJ’s in TM

Posted on June 28, 2010
Originally posted 2008-07-20 00:20:11. Republished by Old Post PromoterThe DeMoines firm of McKee Voorhees & Sease has a very interesting looking IP blog called Filewrapper®. Here they report on a Tenth Circuit case clarifiying the applicable standard for declaratory judgment jurisdiction in trademark infringement cases: The court held that the “reasonable apprehension of suit” standard [...

Meet some bloggers. Whatever.

Posted on June 28, 2010
Originally posted 2009-02-28 21:17:31. Republished by Old Post PromoterJohn Welch asks, in his naive but charming way: TTABlog query: Who, if anyone, owns the rights to the mark MEET THE BLOGGERS? I coined the term in 2005, and Marty Schwimmer and I hosted the first two events (San Diego and Toronto) under that title...

Giving his all, almost

Posted on June 25, 2010
I understand getting hot under the collar while defending meritless trademark claims, but this is a bit much: Trademark infringement trials are not usually emotional affairs. But Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan partner Michael Carlinsky told us there were some poignant moments for him during a two-week bench trial this past winter when he defended [...

Sapporo Diet Water: The ultimate in branding

Posted on June 25, 2010
Originally posted 2007-09-15 21:05:35. Republished by Old Post PromoterLite water.  It’s all in the marketing! Hat tip to my client, the photographer Robert Burch. Sapporo Diet Water: The ultimate in branding ©, .

Comments re-enabled

Posted on June 25, 2010
Originally posted 2006-08-09 10:56:51. Republished by Old Post PromoterRegular readers have given up trying to leave comments because the commenting functionality wasn’t working. Well, it’s fixed. So flame away. Comments re-enabled ©, .

When counterfeits are serious business

Posted on June 25, 2010
Originally posted 2006-12-12 18:37:06. Republished by Old Post PromoterThe New York Times writes about counterfeit drugs, the tragedies that follow in their wake and the reality of enforcement.  Via the NCPA website. When counterfeits are serious business ©, .

The latest intel on Intel’s trademark adventures

Posted on June 23, 2010
Forget about that dull, boring stuff about the negotiations between the Federal Trademark Commission and Intel Corporation’s so-called anticompetitive practices.  It’s dog eat dog out there — what do these G-men want from a guy? No, much more interesting, and plus, yeah, there’s a little in the way of crushing every little person, place or [...

Other People’s Information Doesn’t Want to be Free

Posted on June 23, 2010
Originally posted 2005-03-12 21:37:00. Republished by Old Post PromoterLast night Santa Clara County Superior Court Judge James Kleinberg ruled in the Apple case that “reporters who published ‘stolen property’ weren’t entitled to protections...

A lawsuit about nothing

Posted on June 23, 2010
Originally posted 2008-01-09 17:15:34. Republished by Old Post PromoterThe New York Times Blog reports on the Seinfeld cookbook case. This quote from copyright law domain master Tim Wu is reason enough to click on through: ?Frankly, I read the complaint...

MasterCard card. Card card. Card.

Posted on June 23, 2010
Originally posted 2008-12-17 12:21:30. Republished by Old Post Promoter A reader writes to New York Times Q&A guy Stuart Elliot with a question that’s on a lot minds:  What’s with this “Mastercard card” stuff you hear on the commercials?  There are, evidently, two answers, the second of which was LIKELIHOOD OF CONFUSION®’s guess and the [...

Texaco sees dead licensees

Posted on June 21, 2010
Duets Blog reports on a case in which Chevron  – now owner of one the biggest trademarks around, the Texaco star, and one of the major trademark owners most affected by this problem — is finally going after what we call “ghost branding” here at LIKELIHOOD OF CONFUSION®: The present fact pattern in the Chevron trademark [...

Philosopher Kings, Not

Posted on June 21, 2010
Originally posted 2005-07-27 11:50:26. Republished by Old Post Promoter The Atlantic Online features an article by Bejamin Wittes bellyaching about the quality of the U.S. Supreme Court’s rationalization of its all-powerful rule over the world’s most powerful nation: But what’s most striking is a basic unhappiness with the Court’s quality and integrity — a sense [...

Immoral / scandalous test lives at PTO

Posted on June 21, 2010
Originally posted 2006-09-11 10:48:21. Republished by Old Post PromoterJohn Welch reports on a denial of a Spanish-language mark upheld on that basis, which continues to puzzle me, though it does not bother me in the least. Welch, ever the responsible adult himself, offers both adult and minor links for your consideration...

The line in the sand

Posted on June 18, 2010
Scott Greenfield: You write that apology, and it better be done before hell freezes over or else.  That will show him, right, Judge? You could quote this guy every day. The line in the sand ©, .

Co-opting the blogosphere

Posted on June 18, 2010
Originally posted 2006-03-19 22:50:49. Republished by Old Post PromoterGlenn Reynolds has a roundup on the latest New York Times outrage regarding the phony story they ran on U.S. abuses in Iraq that, evidently, didn’t happen, as the paper now admits...

You know it’s not a crime any more when…

Posted on June 18, 2010
Originally posted 2006-06-07 17:26:12. Republished by Old Post Promoter… even the judges are doing it? You know it’s not a crime any more when… ©, .

John Doe in Illinois

Posted on June 17, 2010
Evan Brown lays this out so clearly it would be a shame to go through the trouble of paraphrasing: Zynga (you know, the creator of Farmville and Mafia Wars) has filed a federal lawsuit against the operators of websites that sell virtual currency and goods for use in Mafia Wars...

Google externalities, Google rents

Posted on June 17, 2010
Originally posted 2007-07-02 12:21:22. Republished by Old Post PromoterThe Washington Post reports about a consultant who can clean up your Google problems. Oh, brave new world, that has such people in it!  Hat tip to TechMeme. I imagine there are quite a few business owners, including trademark holders, who would be interested in this service...

Venkat “spams” Blawg Review; Harlow heals our pain

Posted on June 16, 2010
Regrettably, I missed referring readers to Venkat Balasubramani’s Spam Notes, which hosted Blawg Review last week.  It’s still pretty fresh, actually. Meanwhile, head on over to David Harlow’s HealthBlawg, one of those snappy ABA 100 law blogs even, which is featuring the current Blawg Review, still warm from the oven! (Glad I got a Round Tuit!) Venkat “spams” Blawg Review; [...

Vuitton beats Google on home court

Posted on June 16, 2010
Originally posted 2006-06-28 20:56:25. Republished by Old Post PromoterThe International Herald Tribune reports: Louis Vuitton, the luxury goods manufacturer, won another round Wednesday in its court battle with the search engine Google to eliminate online ads of competitors or counterfeiters that show up in searches for the well-known French brand...

Jerry Coleman, 1937-2010

Posted on June 09, 2010
Jerry Coleman, 1937-2010 ©, .

Justice served cold

Posted on June 08, 2010
When I was in law school, my trademark law seminar instructor was a practicing lawyer who has his share of war stories, some involving actual weapons. He had accompanied federal customs officers on warehouse raids to identify and confiscate bootleg goods bearing marks that belonged to or infringed on marks belonging to his firm?s clients...

Hasidim all right, and I don’t like what I see’d

Posted on June 08, 2010
Originally posted 2007-04-20 14:36:47. Republished by Old Post PromoterThere’s a long and venerable — and not very pretty — history of disputes among religious groups, especially in break-away contexts, over the trademark rights in their names...

Foundations of justice

Posted on June 08, 2010
Originally posted 2007-01-17 16:37:44. Republished by Old Post Promoter Pillars at New York Supreme Court, New York County Originally uploaded by Likelihood of Confusion. Well, of a very heavy courthouse, anyway. The New York state courts are not necessarily accorded great respect by those who have [...

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