The question of LIKELIHOOD OF CONFUSION is the signal test to determine if a trademark infringement claim is valid. This blog is about trademark law, copyright law, free speech (mostly as it relates to the Internet) and legal issues related to blogging.
As for me, I'm Ron Coleman, a trademark lawyer in New York. More precisely, I'm a commercial litigator, business attorney and "IP maven" with a special interest in copyright and trademark infringement involving the Internet--including advising clients how to avoid them. I am also a writer and notional general counsel of the largely notional Media Bloggers Association. My firm, Goetz Fitzpatrick LLP, has offices in New York and New Jersey. I'm also a contributor to a few other blogs, including Dean's World.
After you read the disclaimer below, you may click here to email me.
LIKELIHOOD OF CONFUSION® is a registered trademark for blogs, and it's mine.
And here's my privacy policy, while we're at it.
@roncoleman Twitter Feed
Originally posted 2007-03-01 14:25:14. Republished by Blog Post Promoter
Google is not a utility. Or an agent of the state, or a thing that owes anyone anything except to the extent they pay for it. At least for now. Eric Goldman has the decision from the U.S. Court for the District of Delaware, and the writeup.
UPDATE: Unrelated, but related: the Google Censorship FAQ.
September 22nd, 2008 at 3:57 pm
[...] We don’t know UK law, but it would seem that in the US, this tactic would not have succeeded, at least to the extent it was based entirely on the risk of legal liability. Under the First Amendment, a privately-owned publisher has every right in the world to “discriminate” as to what messages it will publish, even for pay; virtually all do. And Google still isn’t a utility. [...]