LIKELIHOOD OF CONFUSION™ - Page 8 of 195 - Ron Coleman on the law affecting brands, the Internet & free speech Lawyer Ron Coleman's LIKELIHOOD OF CONFUSION™ blog

Little people, big lawsuits

June 18, 2021

The Washington Post reports on legal action taken by ordinary folk against Big IP Content Generating institutions for lifting and using “user-generated” content, i.e., pictures and stuff uploaded onto blogs and galleries by regular people. The corporations are doing this, evidently, in the quest for authentic authenticity. There will be spanking. This is an odd quote, though, from Lawrence Lessig: What’s noteworthy in each of these cases, Lessig says, “is that bloggers, a community typically…

Written by:

Ron Coleman

June 18, 2021July 26, 2021 Government

California Uber Alles

We’ve got an even bigger problem now: Read the complaint we filed on behalf of social media superstar DC Draino. You won’t believe your eyes, but it’s very real. Sample screen shot from the California Ministry of Election Truth: When will you start to care? UPDATE: Read more

June 17, 2021June 28, 2021 Law Practice and Profession

Instapundit second-guesses the geek market

Glenn writes: It’s true that a country that pays its lawyers a lot better than its scientists and engineers is likely, over time, to have better lawyers than scientists and engineers. Of course, Glenn knows that “countries” don’t pay lawyers; clients do, and they have a wide, wide range of options in terms of pricing for legal services. And engineers are paid by their private or public employees, as well. He also knows that average... Read more

June 17, 2021June 28, 2021 Roundups

Tons of tweeting

Yes, it is measured in tons. You never heard of guano? Anyway, here’s what the blog’s official Twitter account, @likely2confuse had to say over the last few months, along with a few topical tweets via @roncoleman: RT @TimberlakeLaw: Just this about Dumb Starbucks: Whether or not it meets the legal definition of parody, it’s a JOKE. Don’t take the bait. — Likelihood TM Blog (@likely2confuse) February 10, 2014 Co-founder liable for sending company’s social media followers... Read more

June 17, 2021June 28, 2021 Free Expression

Ideological purity

Yahoo News: Chinese Communist Party chief Hu Jintao has vowed to “purify” the Internet, state media reported on Wednesday, describing a top-level meeting that discussed ways to master the countrys sprawling, unruly online population. . . . Hu, a strait-laced communist with little sympathy for cultural relaxation, did not directly mention censorship. But he made it clear that the Communist Party was looking to ensure it keeps control of China’s Internet users, often more interested... Read more

June 17, 2021 Distribution systems

“Aereo” smiths (part two)

In part one of this post I laid out the following propositions: (a) We operate in a common-law system, so want and expect judges to apply the law to new factual situations; (b) intellectual property law is — as the Aereo case demonstrates — the very fount of new factual situations in our time; (c) lawyers try to navigate this system on behalf of clients but often find themselves or their clients being accused of... Read more

June 17, 2021 Rights of Publicity and Personality

Don’t be like Mike

Here’s the one about a moron who has too much time on his hands — or a lawyer who owes him a very lame “favor.” UPDATE: Walter Olson, of course, and his commenters go to town with this. Originally posted 2012-07-09 13:55:34. Republished by Blog Post Promoter Read more

June 17, 2021 Keyword Advertising

Not quite dead

The Google / Kinderstart suit was dismissed, with leave given to amend, in August. What sounds like oral argument regarding the amended complaint is being reported by Reuters. It doesn’t sound too good for Kinderstart. “I guess I am still not convinced … that a provably false statement has been alleged,” Fogel said during a court session on whether the suit should advance to the evidence discovery stage or be dismissed outright. The judge asked... Read more

June 17, 2021June 28, 2021 Meet the Bloggers

Meet the bloggers (2007)!

Reminder: Marty Schwimmer, doyen of trademark bloggers, John Welch, éminence grise in the field, and LIKELIHOOD OF CONFUSION, of whom it is said à boire ou je tue le chien!, will be hosting a reception for INTA attendees and other hangers-on under Chicago at the Billy Goat Tavern Monday night at INTA, beginning at 7:30. That’s PM. Marty never drinks before 10 in the morning. On Mondays. Originally posted 2009-10-26 23:59:21. Republished by Blog Post Promoter Read more

June 17, 2021 Internet Law

Deep, Man

Apropos the Bates Line / Tulsa World dustup, Kevin Heller reminds us that deep linking can be a problem — if you promised in a contract that you wouldn’t link. And he reminds us, astutely, that a contract can include a website user agreement. The flip side: If that’s your angle, content owner, you’d be well advised to say so in your cease and desist letter, and not merely default to a copyright claim. Originally... Read more

June 17, 2021 Trademarks and trademark law

Erik Pelton tracks trademark trends

My friend Erik Pelton reviewed the big news in trademarks during 2017 in this post from the first week in January. Highlights, compressed by me — save for the one set out as a quote in its entirety — with my own bit of spin: Supreme Court allows registration of ‘disparaging’ trademarks Notwithstanding the excitement over these developments experienced by the holders of trademarks such as THE SLANTS, REDSKINS and the one in Brunetti, Erik observes that,... Read more

June 17, 2021 Brand Management and Branding

Hit the Road, JACK

Media Week reports that a company called SparkNet Communications sued a rival broadcasting outfit in May for infringing its trademark on stations in St. Louis, Phoenix, Chicago and San Francisco utilizing the “trademark” slogan PLAYING WHAT WE WANT. The District Court in Chicago wasn’t buying. Says the Media Week report: SparkNet claimed that Bonneville’s use of the slogans “70’s, 80’s… whatever we want,” “70’s, 80’s… whatever we feel like,” and “today’s new music… and whatever... Read more

June 17, 2021June 28, 2021 LIKELIHOOD OF CONFUSION®

Likelihood of Success (updated)

Likelihood of Success was my “general interest”/politics blog. Unlike LIKELIHOOD OF CONFUSION®, it had a great jawline, an aquiline nose and perfectly white teeth! I retired the Likelihood of Success blog after a brief but ho-hum run, and in late 2014 I finally took the archived content offline. I will eventually restore posts of particular interest, but the time has come to move on. Originally posted 2008-11-12 00:01:41. Republished by Blog Post Promoter Read more

June 17, 2021June 28, 2021 Brand Management and Branding

Best of 2009: “All that know-chow costs some scratch!”

This was first posted on August 26, 2009. Legal Blog Watch: Pet food giant Purina is like a dog that won’t give up its bone — or in this case, its chow. Three years ago, Purina sent a cease-and-desist letter to Chow, Baby!, a Baltimore area pet supply shop and Web site owned by Robin McDonald, asserting that its use of the “Chow, Baby!” name was likely to cause confusion with Purina’s CHOW trademarks and... Read more