Plaintiff is a retailer. Defendant attempts to sell it counterfeit product, which plaintiff refuses. Defendant says to third-party retailers: “Plaintiff is a satisfied customer.” Plaintiff brings 32 and 43(a) causes. District court dismisses at 12(b)(6) level, indicating that the unauthorized use of plaintiff’s mark doesn’t lead to confusion as to source of products. Second Circuit
When BEATS BY DR DRE Are 66% Off
My son asked me for BEATS BY DR DRE headphones, retail $300, so I pretended not to hear him and left the room. I tried that the next couple of times he asked me. Eventually I had to do one of my ‘when I was your age speeches’ which makes him drowsy enough for me
NY Times v Kachingle
Kachingle says that it has pioneered a new approach that will save traditional journalism thorugh ‘micropayment monetization’ of content such as blogs. A Kachingle customer’s account is billed some small amount when they read content on a site that partners with Kachingle. Kachingle approached the NY Times, which declined to participate. Nevertheless, Kachingle maintained various
‘Export Only’ Use Held Not To Infringe in China
Hogans Lovell: OEM Products May Not Infringe Tradmarks in China:
The Shanghai Higher People’s Court upheld a lower court’s decision that OEM (Original Equipment Manufacturer) products do not infringe a registered trademark in China if they are manufactured and exported to the order of a different owner of the same trademark abroad.
Contesting The Incontestable (2d Cir on STOLI)
A US federal trademark registration for which a Section 15 affidavit has been accepted after 5 years of continuous use, is said to be ‘incontestable.’ That is to say that ‘title has been quieted,’ with regard to prior users. There is a laundry list of exceptions to incontestability in Section 33 of the Lanham Act.
Report re Use of DMCA In Political Campaigns
Center For Democracy & Technology: “Campaign Takedown Troubles“:
This report documents the extent to which overly aggressive copyright claims under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act have inappropriately stifled political speech on the Internet during recent campaign cycles.Broadcasters, concerned about the reuse of their news and public affairs footage in political advocacy, sometimes turn
Motion For Expedited Discovery re Google’s Potential Use of SPEEDBOOK
Plaintiff owns rights in SPEEDBOOK, seeks expedited discovery to determine if published reports are true that Google will use SPEEDBOOK for a tablet computer.
Electronics Arts Defeats Prelim Re MIRROR’S EDGE Alleging Fraud On The PTO
Read the whole decision. You do not see the successful undermining of incontestable registrations all that often. HT JW.
Text of Draft Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement
The Tokyo Round has reportedly produced this draft of the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA).
Text of 7th Cir. Decision on Stayart v Yahoo – Personal Name As Trademark
Prior coverage from Prof Goldman here.