Blawg Review #162 is now available at the China Law Blog. This week's review is a bit light on IP links, except for Mike Atkin's Seattle Trademark Lawyer post detailing a potential trademark dispute involving coffee and roller derby -- click here for the post. Despite that (or maybe because of it), it is a great read. And if you are looking for good information on Chinese business law, the China Law Blog is one of the best.
Shortly after my Friday post updating the list of regional IP blogs, Mark Walters, of the Washington State Patent Law Blog, pointed out that I had left him off the list. The mistake was unintentional and I have remedied it in the original post and the list that follows this paragraph. In the process of gathering links to revise my list, I came across the Georgia Patent Law Blog in the Washington State Patent Law Blog's blogroll. So, now I have two blogs to update:
Australian Trademarks Law Blog*
Georgia Patent Law Blog (N.D. Georgia)
Illinois Trial Pratice Weblog (okay, it is not IP specific, but it is regional and provides excellent content)
Los Angeles Intellectual Property Trademark Attorney Blog
Maryland Intellectual Property Law Blog*
Patent Trademark Blog(some Orange County focus)
Tech Law Forum Blog (N.D. Cal.)
Washington State Patent Law Blog
If you know of other regional IP blogs, post a comment or send me an email and I will add them to the list.
*These are blogs developed and hosted by LexBlog just like this Blog.
Since my last post listing the Blog's "cousin" blogs -- regional IP blogs – another has joined the family. The Los Angeles Intellectual Property Trademark Attorney Blog, published by Milord & Associates. Welcome to the family. Here is the revised list:
Australian Trademarks Law Blog*
Georgia Patent Law Blog (N.D. Georgia)
Illinois Trial Pratice Weblog (okay, it is not IP specific, but it is regional and provides excellent content)
Los Angeles Intellectual Property Trademark Attorney Blog
Maryland Intellectual Property Law Blog*
Patent Trademark Blog(some Orange County focus)
Tech Law Forum Blog (N.D. Cal.)
Washington State Patent Law Blog
[UPDATE]: I was quickly reminded that I forgot the excellent Washington State Patent Law Blog, which has been added to this post, and in that process I discovered the Georgia Patent Law Blog, also added, thanks to Mark Walter's (Washington State Patent Law Blog) blog roll.
If you know of other regional IP blogs, post a comment or send me an email and I will add them to the list. A hat tip to Mike Atkins for pointing out the new blog at his Seattle Trademark Lawyer blog.
*These are blogs developed and hosted by LexBlog just like this Blog.
Several unrelated legal stories that are worth a read:
* Hat tip to Michael Atkins at the Seattle Trademark Blog for pointing out the article during his Trademark Dilution Weekend.
Congress enacted the Trademark Dilution Revision Act (the "TDRA") about one year ago in an effort to resolve numerous open trademark issue.* Many believe that the TDRA has opened more questions than it answered. The University of Michigan Law Review's First Impressions blog recently addressed those issues with a series of articles:
Dilution's (Still) Uncertain Future
Graeme Dinwoodie, Chicago-Kent College of Law
Mark Janis, University of Iowa College of Law
Looking at the litigation history of trademark dilution.
What is Dilution, Anyway?
Stacey Dogan, Northeastern University School of Law
Considering the underlying meaning of dilution.
The Trademark Dilution Revision Act of 2006: A Welcome — and Needed — Change
Dale Cendali & Bonnie Schriefer, O'Melveny & Myers LLP
Explaining why the TDRA clarifies and strengthens First Amendment protections.
The Dilution Solution: Populating the Trademark A-list
Scott Wilcox, University of Michigan Law School
Looking at the court as arbiters of fame.
* For more on the TDRA, click here for the Blog's archives and click here for the Seattle Trademark Lawyer’s coverage of the TDRA's first anniversary.
Since my last post listing the Blog's "cousin" blogs -- regional IP blogs – several have joined the family. The Washington State Patent Law Blog and the Las Vegas Trademark Attorney have both started in the last several months. Welcome to the family. Here is the revised list:
Illinois Trial Pratice Weblog (okay, it is not IP specific, but it is regional and provides excellent content)
Maryland Intellectual Property Law Blog
Patent Trademark Blog(some Orange County focus)
Tech Law Forum Blog (N.D. Cal.)
If you know of other regional IP blogs, post a comment or send me an email (david.donoghue@dlapiper.com) and I will add them to the list.
*The Florida IP Blog is another blog developed and hosted by LexBlog just like this Blog and, as usual, it is a great looking site with easy navigation.
Milwaukee Elec. Tool Corp. v. Robert Bosch Tool Corp., No. 05 C 1171, 2007 WL 2875232 (N.D. Ill. Sep. 28, 2004) (Kendall, J.)
Judge Kendall granted plaintiff’s motion to dismiss its Lanham Act case with prejudice and awarded defendant its costs but not its fees pursuant to 15 U.S.C. § 1117(a). The Court held that attorney’s fees were not warranted because the case and its dismissal after substantial fact discovery were not exceptional. Plaintiff dismissed its case because of two significant events which plaintiff believed reduced its likelihood of success.
First, during discovery Congress passed the Trademark Dilution Revision Act (“TDRA”)* which changed the definition of “famous” such that fame within a niche market was no longer sufficient for dilution. Plaintiff was not certain it could prove fame outside its market. Second, defendant changed the trade dress, and particularly the color scheme, of its accused SKIL line of power tools. Plaintiff believed that defendant’s new trade dress was less similar to plaintiff’s and, therefore, plaintiff’s case was more difficult to prove. The Court accepted plaintiff’s reasoning and, therefore, held that the case was not exceptional. The Court did, however, award costs, which plaintiff had originally agreed it would pay.
* For more on the TDRA, click here for the Seattle Trademark Lawyer’s coverage of the TDRA this week in honor of the TDRA’s first anniversary.
According to Interbrand Ronald is worth more than Mickey. Interbrand has just published its 2007 Best Global Brands, ranking the top 100 brands that: 1) derive at least a third of earnings outside of the brand’s home country; 2) are recognized beyond the brand's customer base; and 3) have public marketing and financial data. Interbrand also excludes brands that are hard to identify as having brand value separate from their products or services. For example, pharma brands are excluded because Interbrand has determined that consumers focus on products rather than the overarching company branding. That leaves Northern District companies like Abbott Labs out of the running. But the Northern District is still very well represented. For example, McDonald's jumped one spot this year, surpassing Disney in brand value. Here are the Northern District companies (or at least those very near the Northern District) on the list:
| 07 Rank | 06 Rank | Company | 07 Brand Value (in USD Millions) |
| 8 | 9 | McDonald's | 29.398 |
| 59 | 59 | Wrigley's | 5.777 |
| 77 | 69 | Motorola | 4.149 |
| 86 | 79 | Kraft | 3.732 |
Thanks to the Seattle Trademark Lawyer for identifying the ranking.
The Wall Street Journal print edition had an interesting article about a new trend in defending lawsuits that focused on an IP dispute -- A Growing Dispute: Fertilizer Start-Up Uses Web as Defense (subscription required). The article discusses TerraCycle Inc.'s use of a website (www.suedbyscotts.com) to bolster its defense of a lawsuit Scotts Miracle-Gro Co. filed against TerraCycle alleging trade dress infringement and false advertising.* According to the article, TerraCycle has not raised much money from its online solicitation for defense fund donations. But during the first four weeks of its online defense, TerraCycle's sales jumped 122%, as opposed to 31% during the same period last year. TerraCycle also saw a corresponding spike in visits to its primary website. The WSJ Law Blog picked up on the story and developed it further, identifying several other defendants that have used websites as an aspect of their defense strategies, including Vonage's site (www.freetocompete.com) developed in connection with its prominent patent dispute.
It appears that defending cases on the internet is a growing trend. I doubt it will benefit defendants within the confines of the courtroom or the legal proceedings generally. Perhaps bringing details of the suit into the public eye will help identify additional prior art or apply pressure from interest groups like consumers or shareholders to get plaintiffs to change tactics. But it seems to me that the biggest benefit of these sites may commercial, they make news and drive additional traffic to the defendant's primary site.
* You can read more about the Scotts Miracle-Gro v. TerraCycle dispute at the Seattle Trademark Lawyer.
Since my last post listing the Blog's "cousin" blogs -- regional IP blogs -- another has joined the family. The Tech Law Forum Blog has switched its format to focus on N.D. California IP cases. Welcome to the family. Here is the revised list:
Tech Law Forum Blog (N.D. Cal.)
If you know of other regional IP blogs, post a comment or send me an email (david.donoghue@dlapiper.com) and I will add them to the list.
*The Florida IP Blog is another blog developed and hosted by LexBlog just like this Blog and, as usual, it is a great looking site with easy navigation.
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