When a guitar is just a guitar
By Mark McKenna The 6th Circuit today released an interesting decision restricting the application of initial interest and post sale confusion doctrines, at least in the context of product configuration. Gibson Guitar Corp. has manufactured its Les Paul line of…
IP and Cognitive Psychology
By Mark McKenna William Patry has an interesting post over at his blog about how courts go about determining substantial similarity in copyright infringement actions. The post resonated with me for a couple of reasons. First, I always have great…
GEICO and Google Settle
By Eric Goldman Reuters reports that GEICO and Google have settled their lawsuit. This development isn’t particularly surprising given that the judge practically ordered them to settle. The terms of the settlement are confidential, so we can only speculate what…
Roundup Not Ready
By Mark McKenna In another example of trademark enforcement on steroids, we have Monsanto’s recent demand that the author of the Bitter Greens Journal blog stop using Roundup Ready as the header for a series of blog posts. See Overlawyered…
More on Rappers and Car Dealers
By Mark McKenna In the name of not being left out of the interesting discussion about Snoop Dogg’s trademark lawsuit against Gary Barbera (not to be confused with Hannah Barbara, of Flintstones fame), I thought I would put in my…
Rappers, Car Dealers and Trademarks — John Weighs In
By John Ottaviani Eric and I have been debating the claims in the 50 Cent and Snoop Dogg cases, and whether there can be trademark like protection for “speech patterns.” Not surprisingly, as one who likes “non-traditional” trademarks, I am…
Rappers, Car Dealer Ads, and Expansive Interpretations of Trademark Law
By Eric Goldman Broadus v. Gary Barbera Enterprises, Inc. (E.D. Pa. complaint filed Aug. 2005). Ten days ago I blogged about the rapper 50 Cent’s lawsuit against the Gary Barbera dealership for running a car ad that showed a picture…
Gripers 1, Initial Interest Confusion 0–Lamparello v. Falwell
Lamparello v. Falwell, No. 04-2011 (4th Cir. Aug. 24, 2005). Following on the Ninth Circuit Bosley opinion from earlier this year, gripe sites won another important victory yesterday in the Fourth Circuit. This ruling is significant not only because it…
Alaska Anti-Adware Law Finally Sent to Governor
BNA reports (BNA subscription required) that the anti-adware law passed by the Alaska legislature back in May was sent to the governor August 19. The article intimates that the hold-up was due to some behind-the-scenes lobbying by Google, Yahoo and…
What 50 Cent Really Said–Use the Term “50” and You’ll Hear From My Lawyer
Jackson v. Gary Barbera Enterprises, Inc. (E.D. Pa. complaint filed Aug. 2005). A car dealer in Philadelphia runs an advertisement for Dodge Magnums. Included is a picture of the popular rapper 50 Cent and the phrase “Just Like 50 Says.”…