Is It Software? Is It a Service? It Matters for Trademark Registration Purposes
Photo credit: Trademark application // ShutterStock A recent trademark decision from the airline leasing industry highlights the importance of thinking about whether a mark used in connection with software (1)…
Details About Amazon’s Confidential Settlement Terms For A Keyword Advertising Lawsuit (Forbes Cross-Post)
…terms. The settlement terms highly favor Amazon, but trademark owners will find Amazon’s concessions interesting nonetheless. Ayse Sen apparently owns a trademark in the “Baiden Mitten,” self-described as an “Exfoliator…
Keyword Advertising Lawsuits Against Search Engines Mostly Tossed–Parts[.]com v. Google and Yahoo
…dismiss. I was floored that the court didn’t address the obvious genericness problem with the Parts.com so-called “trademark.” In the Google opinion, she suggests the mark was “at most” descriptive;…
Ninth Circuit Kills Contributory ACPA Cybersquatting Doctrine–Petronas v. GoDaddy
…a part of the ACPA. Additionally, unlike trademark law which is aimed at preventing consumer confusion, the ACPA is intended to prevent use or registration of a domain name with…
Another Keyword Advertising Lawsuit Unceremoniously Dismissed–Infostream v. Avid
…dismiss–effectively saying that keyword ads not referencing a third party trademark are per se OK under trademark law. While the court probably is correct that consumers aren’t meaningfully confused by…
Fake LinkedIn Profile May Cause Trademark Infringement – Avepoint v. Axceler
…argument that it isn’t really using the Avepoint mark for trademark purposes. The court says that “unauthorized use of a trademark on the internet satisfies the ‘in commerce’ requirement” and…
Sexting a Minor Isn’t a Crime in Texas
…is harmful, but as this case shows, that justification will not necessarily fly with a court that is vigilant on First Amendment issues. Other coverage: h/t Mark Bennett, who represented…
Regional Trademark Owner Can’t Block Junior User’s Internet Presence–Dudley v. HealthSource (Catch-up Post)
…national player wants to adopt the same trademark on the Internet? In August 2012, a New York district court held that a senior user of a common law trademark could…
Organizing an “Internet Safety” Presentation? Don’t Troll Through Students’ Facebook Accounts Looking for Bikini Photos
…Another casualty of Facebook’s privacy settings. Even sophisticated Internet users don’t understand Facebook’s friend-of-a-friend setting (see, e.g., how Mark Zuckerberg’s sister Randi got tripped up by the friend-of-a-friend setting). If…
Effort to Game Website User Agreement Rules Fails -– Traton News v. Traton Corp.
…sued for trespass and lost. Later, he formed “Traton News LLC” and filed to register the “Traton” mark for news services. Moses operated traton.com and posted articles on a variety…