Could mark owners sue media for generic use? Suits charging mark misuse could be filed, consistent with First Amendment principles
Article Abstract:
The generic use of a trademark rather than using it as a brand identifier causes it to cease to serve as a source identifier and eventually to slip into the public domain. Both trademark owners and the media commonly think that the First Amendment bars mark owners from suing media outlets for such misuse of their marks, but such a suit could be constitutionally sustained. Trademark dilution, whether or under state or federal anti-dilution laws, is the principal argument against this media misuse of a mark. The courts will balance the First Amendment rights of the media against the property rights of the trademark owners.
Publication Name: The National Law Journal
Subject: Law
ISSN: 0162-7325
Year: 1998
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The 'Schenk' decision: a Solomonic solution
Article Abstract:
The US Supreme Court balanced carefully the constitutional rights of free speech and reproductive privacy in Schenck v. Pro-Choice Network. The decision arose from a challenge to a judicial injunction providing for a fixed buffer and moving bubble zone at abortion clinics in Rochester and Buffalo, NY. The decision affirmed the governmental interest in the protection of access to abortion clinics while emphasizing that limitations on speech must be easy to understand, so First Amendment rights are not limited unduly.
Publication Name: The National Law Journal
Subject: Law
ISSN: 0162-7325
Year: 1997
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Chinese enforcement efforts may protect IP; the '95 regs, charging Customs examining imports and exports, appear to be working
Article Abstract:
China has strengthened its intellectual property enforcement system by heightened customs control over imports and exports. The 1995 Customs Rules Concerning the Implementation of Customs Protection of Intellectual Property Rights has been key in strengthening the country's intellectual property enforcement system. Comparing the agency to US Customs, which monitors only intellectual rights with respect to imports, helps show why it is the most powerful agency in the country.
Publication Name: The National Law Journal
Subject: Law
ISSN: 0162-7325
Year: 1998
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