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Article from The American Prospect entitled 'Death By Dilution,' on the world counterfeit drug market. The FDA estimates that 10% of the medicine in the world is counterfeit; others estimate that the figure is 50% in some countries.
Review of The Third Man (one of my favorite thrillers) here.
Further to our prior conversation about trade secret issues raised by IP filings, we note that Prof. Patry has posted on Copyright Deposits and Trade Secret Protection.
Back in 1993, IANA set aside the registration of single-digit domain names (six were floating around - IdeaLab used to own Z.COM, for example). Now ICANN is supposed to discuss whether such names should be released. Presumably some of these names would be quite valuable.
Some companies are making (possibly) premptory trademark filings. Yahoo has filed a trademark application for Y.COM. Overstock has filed for O.COM. A company named GQXZP2 (represented by Bracewell & Guiliani) has filed several 'single digit.com' applications, including A.COM.
Hmm.
Vodafone goes after name squatter in Russia.
Similar story re STARBUCKs in Russia here.
Kazakhstan, taking the bait, has protested comedian Sacha Baron Cohen's portrayal of Borat, a fictitious Kazakh.
Compare results among three leading search engines. I tried it out with 'Trademark Lawyer' and the discrepancy was a little surprising. Via Searchblog.
There is now a 'Black Friday' ad website industry. More coverage here.
If you're aware of (legally disclosable) lawsuits or protests arising from the 'leaking' of Black Friday pricing data, pass it on.
Makers of REDLINE energy drink bring trade dress declaratory judgment against RED BULL. Copy of REDLINE complaint here, commentary via Nutritional and Dietary Supplement Law Blog.
'Music at the Edge of Chaos: A Complex Systems Perspective on File Sharing' by Deborah S. Tussey:
Abstract:
Peer-to-peer file sharing arose in the context of a system for production and distribution of music recordings. This article applies complexity theory and systems analysis to that system. It describes the music system as a complex system displaying universal characteristics of such systems, including nonlinearity, emergence, and unpredictability. P2P is an emergent phenomenon, which has fed back into the system and produced emergent responses, notably the iTunes business model and moderate digital rights management. These responses suggest that the music system is successfully adapting to the digital environment and has positioned itself "at the edge of chaos" where complex systems are most sustainable. Nonetheless, numerous proposals for legislative responses to file sharing are on the table. This article suggests several guidelines for successful regulation of complex systems such as the music system and applies those guidelines to current copyright reform proposals. I conclude that such proposals are premature and suggest that the current regulatory structure be left essentially intact for several years to allow the system reasonable time to adapt. During that period, Congress should monitor system conditions to ensure open competition and utilize independent observers to perform a thorough system analysis which could guide legislative intervention if it later proves necessary.
For those of you following the Pajamas / Open Source Media naming brouhaha, we note that our firm provides trademark availability and clearance services at popular prices.
UPDATE: Pajamas Media signals retreat about as well as you can.
Stain Pen releases statement entitled 'STAIN PEN (r) Registered Tradeamrk Hugely Valuable' putting world on notice.
Wilkinson and Gillette litigate: 'A Competitive Edge In A Cutthroat Market' via BrandChannel.
Additionally commentary from The Onion here (hat tip Douglas).
INTA Toronto May '06 Brochure.
Where should we stay? Where should we go? Should we have a bloggers' fete?
I received a solicitation for a Serbia and Montenegro IP firm with a nice picture of a coutry road on its website.
Internet damage control in action. A neighbor forwarded me an email this morning indicating that Swiffer WetJet contains anti-freeze, and that pets die after licking the floor where Swiffer has been used. As we use Swiffer and have two extremely bad dogs, this concerned me. I Googled 'Swiffer pets' and got this disclaimer from Swiffer.
How do these things get started?
Further to our previous conversations about the practice of the third parties monitoring domain name and trademark filings for tidbits of news, here we have Gizmondo reporting on Google's registration of the domain names GOOGLEMAGAZINES.COM, GOOGLEMICROFILM.COM, GOOGLELIBRARY.COM and GOOGLEPAPERS.COM.
MEGA BLOKS wins a round against LEGO in Canada.
UPDATE; Text of Mega Blok v. Lego decision, hat tip Andrea.
Starbucks has gained the upper hand in its travails in using the STARBUCKS mark in Russia, via Forbes.
Copyfight has exhaustive coverage.
Reading of this incident and thinking of Prof. Lessig's theory of 'code is law', all I can say is that there are still a few bugs in the system.
So I am told.
Just when you thought that the outrages from the Jackson trial were part of the past, there's more.
Bloomberg LP apparently uses the trademark PENGBO in China. It has sued two Chinese companies for using that mark. The article doesn't explain why Bloomberg uses that trademark.
This may be completely missing the issue in this case, but some Western companies use neither a translation nor a transliteration (characters that produce the phonetic equivalent of the name) in China, but use a connotative equivalent. If you have insight on the Bloomberg situation, pass it along.
Research in Motion, vendor of the Blackberry (known by some as Crackberry), has sued a vendor of a -BERRY line of personal organizers. Via Bloomberg.
One time, a long-time friend, whom I hadn't seen for years, visited me at home. He couldn't turn his Blackberry off. Every five minutes the thing vibrated the table and he would read the message. I don't think he even realized he was being rude. It was like a tic or something.
I used to have a SideKick and I had the email sickness. Now I don't use a handheld device and I'm only available by email maybe 14 hours a day.
Rendered no less sordid for its oft-retelling. Prof Eric Goldman on the Office Depot v. Staple VIKING keyword case.
Press Release re settlement re use of ACOMPLIAREPORT.COM between news site and owner of ACOMPLIA trademark. Settlement contains provisions relating to mitigation of confusion.
I will be participating in a panel this Saturday in Chicago on the future of blogging, technology and law practice at LexThink's BlawgThink conference.
Nestle has filed patents for Coffee Beer. Hat tip to Invent Blog.
Prof. Raymond Nimmer has started a blog entitled 'Contemporary Intellectual Property, Licensing & Information Law.'
Someone who believes that Home Depot sucks, prevailed in a UDRP brought by Home Depot. Respondent was represented by the University of San Francisco Internet and Intellectual Property Justice Clinic. Via EFF.
This would be a useful decision to review prior to sending a demand letter to a gripe site, as there is good discussion of the three elements in the context of a gripe site.
I don't believe Home Depot sucks but it seems to matter which location you go to. I have had basically positive experience with the Port Chester one. I stay away from the Yonkers location (not enough sales help) unless I'm also going to Costco and Stew Leonards there. The Danbury, CT Home Depot is good for large items, such as lawn mowers.
The Orrick firm publishes a Copyright & Trademark Update. Latest issue here.
You can't make this stuff up. A variant of the parody defense is the argument that the target of the parody doesn't exist. More on a demand letter sent to a fictitious company here.
The Free Expression Policy Project of the Brennan Center for Justice at NYU School Of Law has released a report 'Will Fair Use Survive? Free Expression in the Age of Copyright Control.'
OHIM confirms FIFA World Cup Trademarks. Via Sportsbusiness.com.
Prior discussion of case by Lovells here.
From Friday's Wall Street Journal (sorry, I'm running behind), an article (no free online version available) entitled 'China's Logo Crackdown,' discussing the absence of infringements of the logo for the 2008 Beijing Olympics. The question is raised: if China can effectively stop the infringement of one trademark, can it effectively stop the infringement of other trademarks.
