This course will explore the theory and doctrine of trademark and unfair competition law. We will ask why, and in what circumstances, things like words, symbols, slogans, product design, packaging, smells, sounds, and restaurant decor can serve as trademarks. We will examine the rules of trademark ownership, including how a party can obtain, maintain, and transfer trademark rights. We will consider the scope and limitations of trademark rights -- the meaning of trademark infringement and dilution, the nature of trademark defenses, and the right of competitors (and the public) to engage in unauthorized uses of marks for purposes such as parody and comparative advertising. Finally, depending on time and student interest, we may address issues including false advertising, legal protection of trademarks abroad, and the current debate over the use of trademarks to trigger Internet-based advertising.
JD 780 (A1)
M/W 2:10-4:10
4 credits, Spring
Professor Gordon
This course will examine the precepts of trademark and unfair competition law. We will investigate issues of ownership, protectability, misappropriation, and infringement in the context of words, symbols, slogans, product design and trade dress. The course also will handle related issues, depending on class interest, such as: trademark's common law roots, false and comparative advertising (including the role of the Federal Trade Commission), parody, the right of publicity, the First Amendment, a comparison of how copyright and trademark treat 'functional' designs and the question of whether trademarks are, or should be, "property".
