Counterfeit Chic and the case of the scrimshaw bracelets.
March 2007
Utah Electronic Registration Mark?
By Marty Schwimmer on
Posted in State Trademarks
Utah invents the electronic registration mark.
Utah General Counsel is reminded of the dormant commerce clause:
As required by legislative rule and practice, the Office of Legislative Research and General Counsel provides the following legislative review note to assist the Legislature in making its own determination as to the constitutionality of the bill. The…
Bruce Lehman: “Our Attempts At Copyright Control Have Not Been Successful”
By Marty Schwimmer on
Posted in DMCA
MichaelGeist.ca: “DMCA Architect Acknowledges Need For A New Approach“: (Former head of the Patent and Trademark Office, Bruce Lehman, influential in the creation of the DMCA, during a panel conference (available on video):
“. . . Lehman says that we are entering the “post-copyright” era for music, suggesting that a new…
I Would Not Mind If Martha Stewart Used ARMONK As A Trademark
By Marty Schwimmer on
Posted in Geography
TMBrandingCap.com reports that the village of Katonah (about ten miles from here) and at least one housewares business within Katonah, will take action against local resident Martha Stewart’s applications for the mark KATONAH for housewares. Background here.
I wouldn’t mind if Martha Stewart used my home town’s name as a trademark. If the…
McDonald’s Seeks To Redefine ‘McJobs’
By Marty Schwimmer on
Posted in What Is This Thing Called Dilution?
AP: ‘McDonald’s Seeks To Redefine ‘McJobs‘:
“McDonald’s Corp. is reviving its campaign to ditch the dictionary definition of “McJob,” this time setting its sites on the vocabulary of Britons. The world’s largest fast food company said Tuesday it plans to launch a campaign in the U.K. this spring to get the country’s dictionary…
Dog Bites Man
By Marty Schwimmer on
Posted in False Advertising
If It Weren’t For Those Meddling Kids, Vitamin C Edition
By Marty Schwimmer on
Posted in False Advertising
TVNZ: “Thirst For Knowledge Leads To Court“:
“Two Auckland schoolgirls have taken on one of the world’s most powerful food and drug companies and won.
A school science experiment has led to GlaxoSmithKline being prosecuted for allegedly misleading consumers about the vitamin c content of Ribena.”
“The American Girl Doll Racket”
By Marty Schwimmer on
Posted in Branding
The Conglomerate: “I Can’t Believe I’m Defending the American Girl Doll Racket”:
“. . . a young girl on a playdate took her Target knock-off of an American Girl doll to the Manhattan American Girl doll store and was refused the $20 hair salon experience for her nonconforming doll.”
Starz Sues Disney Over Movie Downloads
By Marty Schwimmer on
Posted in Copyright
News.com: “Starz Sues Disney Over Movie Downloads”:
“Liberty Media Holding’s Starz Entertainment cable network said on Thursday it is suing a unit of Walt Disney for allowing other movie download services to sell titles while they were exclusively licensed to Starz.
The lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court in Los Angeles, was brought by Starz…
“Music Publishers Sue XM Over Digital Copying”
By Marty Schwimmer on
Posted in Copyright
Hollywood Reporter: “Music Publishers Sue XM Over Digital Copying”:
“The suit, filed in federal court in New York by the National Music Publishers Assn., alleges that XM engages in massive copyright infringement through its subscription digital music download service known as XM + MP3.
According to the NMPA, the suit was filed after months of…