Fall 2020 Class meeting time via Zoom: Tuesday and Thursday 4:00-5:15 pm Office hours via Zoom or telephone: Tuesday and Thursday 1:45-4:00 (before class), 5:15-5:30 pm (after class), or by appointment Course Description: This course provides an overview of trademark and unfair competition law. We will discuss the purpose of these laws, the requirements for trademark protection, and the scope and enforcement of trademark rights. Specifically, we will cover the concepts of distinctiveness, functionality, and use of a trademark; the procedural and substantive aspects of trademark registration; geographic limits on trademark rights; trademark infringement, dilution, cybersquatting, counterfeiting, false advertising, false endorsement, and the right of publicity; and defenses and remedies in trademark actions. Required Materials: Version 7.0 of Barton Beebe's casebook Trademark Law: An Open-Source Casebook is available at this link. Reading Assignments 8/18: Pages 10-30 of the casebook (CB); Optional:
Watch the USPTO’s Trademark Basic Facts videos at http://www.uspto.gov/trademarks/basics/index.jsp or read the Basic Facts About Trademarks booklet I. Establishing Trademark Rights 8/20: CB 31-63; Think of one brand that you use or like (e.g., Starbucks coffee), and search for that trademark by clicking "Search our trademark database (TESS)" at https://www.uspto.gov/trademarks-application-process/search-trademark-database 8/25: CB 36-52 8/27: CB 52-76; CB 91-97; Optional: Frito-Lay CB 76-91 9/1: CB 107-142; Optional:Two Pesos CB 98-107 9/3: CB 132-160 9/8: CB 160-198 9/10: CB 187-227; Optional: Lisa Ramsey on Trademark Law and The First Amendment, Ipse Dixit Podcast (July 1, 2019) (interview by Professor Brian Frye) 9/15: CB 227-247 9/17: CB 247-277 9/22: CB 269-309; Optional: ITC (2nd Cir.) and ITC (NY) CB 309-25 9/24: CB 325-360 9/29: Stone Brewing Co. v. Millercoors LLC, 445 F.Supp.3d 1113, 1113-1137 (S.D. Cal. 2020); CB 369-392 [Skip: Virgin Enterprises CB 361-368] 10/1: CB 392-425 10/5 at noon: First writing assignment is due - please post it on TWEN 10/6: CB 406-437 10/8: CB 437-467 10/13: CB 450-488 10/15: CB 488-525 10/20: CB 514-543; CB 552-61 [Skip: Desert Beauty CB 544-551] 10/22: CB 561-592 10/27: CB 593-624 10/29: CB 625-663 11/3: CB 664-697 [Skip: Substantiation section CB 697-720] 11/5: CB 721-750 11/10: CB 751-771 11/12: CB 772-791 11/17: CB 792-813 11/18 at noon: Second writing assignment is due - please post it on TWEN 11/19: Review Note the trademark law exam will be held on Monday, December 7, at 8:30 am |