Fall 2026
Class meeting time: Monday and Wednesday 10:30-11:50 a.m.
Office hours: Monday and Wednesday 3:00-4:00 pm; Tuesday 9:00 am - 12:00 p.m.
Required Materials: (1) Version 13 of Professor Barton Beebe's casebook Trademark Law: An Open-Access Casebook (July 2026), which you can download for free at this link and also purchase on Amazon on an at-cost, royalty-free basis and (2) other materials posted on this webpage or on Canvas.
Reading Assignments - will be posted here a few weeks before class. We will cover the following topics:
Introduction
8/17: Pages 1-25 of the Beebe Casebook (CB); Check out the USPTO’s Trademarks webpage and videos on the Trademark Information Network webpage
I Establishing Trademark Rights
8/19: CB 26-51 (inherent distinctiveness of source)
8/24: CB 51-88 (acquired distinctiveness of source; generic marks)
8/26: CB 75-108, 117-134 (generic marks cont'd; failure to function) [skip Elliot]
8/31: CB 131-164 (distinctiveness analysis of nonverbal marks)
9/2: CB 164-195 (distinctiveness analysis of nonverbal marks cont'd; bars to protection - functionality)
9/7: Labor day holiday - no class
9/9: CB 195-224 (functionality cont'd); and Pick a trademark and classify it on the Abercrombie spectrum and/or determine whether it is inherently distinctive under the Seabrook test. Also discuss whether the mark has acquired distinctiveness through use (and if this evidence is required). During class students will introduce themselves and talk about the distinctiveness of their selected mark. Optional: search for that phrase on the USPTO website by clicking “Trademark Search system” at this link and determine whether the mark is registered.
9/14: CB 222-257 (functionality cont'd; deceptive and deceptively misdescriptive marks; marks that falsely suggest a connection; confusingly similar marks)
9/16: CB 249-268, 281-304 (marks that falsely suggest a connection; confusingly similar marks; trademark law and the First Amendment) [skip Brunetti]
9/21: CB 304-334 (use on commerce as a prerequisite for trademark rights; trademark registration process)
9/23: CB 334-368 (trademark registration process cont'd; geographic extent of trademark rights)
9/28: CB 368-398 (geographic extent of trademark rights cont'd) [skip ITC cases and Belmora]
II. Enforcement of Trademark Rights
9/30: CB 433-457 (actual use requirement; confusion-based infringement); Stone Brewing Co. v. Millercoors LLC, 445 F.Supp.3d 1113, 1113-1137 (S.D. Cal. 2020) (posted in the files folder of Canvas) [skip Virgin]
10/5: Stone Brewing; CB 469-497 (confusion-based infringement cont'd)
10/7: CB 497-524 (confusion-based infringement cont'd)
10/9 (Fri) at 10 pm: Essay answer to first writing assignment (posted in the files folder of Canvas) due to me via email
10/12: CB 523-546 (confusion-based infringement cont'd)
10/14: CB 546-565, 582-598 (confusion-based infringement cont'd; trademark dilution) [skip reverse passing off - Dastar and comments]
10/19: CB 599-607, 618-634; VIP Products v. United States, Jack Daniel's, 185 F.4th 919 (9th Cir. 2026) (posted in the files folder of Canvas) (trademark dilution cont'd) [skip Starbucks]
10/21: CB 635-649 (cybersquatting) [skip UDRP and URSS]; CB 665-679, 690-696 (secondary liability) [skip Gucci]
III. Defensive Doctrines in Trademark Law
10/26: CB 697-727 (descriptive fair use)
10/28: CB 728-750 (nominative fair use)
IV. False Advertising
V. Right of Publicity
VI. Remedies