Fall 2020 Class meeting time via Zoom: Tuesday and Thursday 4:00-5:15 pm Office hours via Zoom or telephone: Tuesday and Thursday 1:15-3:45 pm 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 |