P1: IML/FFX P2: IML/FFX QC: IML/FFX T1: IML
Everett-Church WL040/Bidgoli-Vol III-Ch-38 July 11, 2003 11:53 Char Count= 0
REFERENCES 457CONCLUSION
As the Internet becomes an even more critical channel for
businesses to reach out to consumers, the value of a well-
leveraged trademark has never been higher. At the same
time, the pressures on trademark owners from infringing
activities are requiring them to be ever more vigilant in
their policing and prosecution of violators. In response to
these pressures, courts and lawmakers have expanded and
clarified traditional trademark protections, adding greatly
to the remedies available to trademark owners who feel
their rights have been violated. In this chapter, I have cov-
ered the fundamentals of trademark law and applied to the
unique new situations presented by Internet technologies.
Although the trademark space will continue to evolve, it
is clear that the value of trademarks is as well-recognized
as ever in the history of commerce.
If there is one conclusion to be drawn, it is that trade-
marks are a complex field of law and procedure, requir-
ing expert guidance to provide maximum opportunity and
protection. This chapter provides readers with a general
overview of many current issues in trademark law, but it is
not a substitute for qualified legal counsel. As I have noted
repeatedly throughout the chapter, successful use of trade-
mark law depends on many detailed analyses and proce-
dural hurdles and requires a significant commitment of
time and resources to take full advantage. Trademark law
provides robust protections to those who, with assistance
from talented counsel, seek to protect their goods and ser-
vices in the marketplace.GLOSSARY
Blurring At type of dilution in which the distinctiveness
of a mark is weakened through its identification with
dissimilar goods.
Deep linking Creating a Web page link that is tied di-
rectly to a document deep within the page hierarchy
of a Web site, rather than simply linking to the main
home page of the site.
Dilution A lessening of the value of a famous trademark
caused by an unauthorized use of the mark, regardless
of whether any actual confusion, deception, or mistake
occurred.
Distinctiveness The ability of a mark to distinguish the
goods and services of the mark own from the goods
and services of another.
Domain name An alphanumeric electronic address on
the Internet.
Famous trademark A court-determined trademark
designation under 35 USC§1125(c).
Lanham Act Also known as the Trademark Act of 1946,
it created a set of federal rules for governing the pro-
cess of registering trademarks and established certain
nationwide legal protections for trademark.
Likelihood of confusion The test of trademark in-
fringement under the Lanham Act. A likelihood of con-
fusion exists if a substantial number of reasonably
prudent consumers are likely to be confused as to the
source of the goods or services.
Infringement Use of a trademark in a way that is so sim-
ilar to the owner’s usage that an average consumer will
be deceived, will mistake the infringing good for theoriginal, or will experience confusion over the nature
or origin of the product.
Initial interest confusion The use of another’s trade-
mark in a manner reasonably calculated to capture ini-
tial consumer attention, even though no actual sale is
finally completed as a result of the confusion.
Intellectual property A set of legal theories that recog-
nize property rights in intangible things such as ideas
and intellectual creations.
Meta tags Hidden codes embedded in Web pages that
contain key words related to the contents of a particu-
lar page, designed to be seen only by search engines.
Secondary meaning An association that has developed
in the public’s mind between the mark or trade dress
of a product and owner of the mark or product.
Service mark A mark that is used to identify a service or
the provider of a service rather than a tangible product,
such as the name of a consulting firm or the name of a
proprietary analytical process used by that consulting
firm.
Tarnishment A type of dilution in which the mark is
used in an unflattering light, such as by associating it
with inferior or distasteful products or services.
Trademark A mark that is used by a manufacturer or
merchant to identify the origin or ownership of goods
and to distinguish them from others and the use of
which is protected by law.
Trade dress The overall image of a product, composed
of the nonfunctional elements of its design, packaging,
or labeling, including specific colors or color combina-
tions, a distinctive package shape, or specific symbols
or design elements.
U.S. Patent and Trademark Office The federal agency
charged with managing the nationwide issuance of
patents and registration of trademarks.CROSS REFERENCES
SeeCopyright Law; Cyberlaw: The Major Areas, Develop-
ment, and Provisions; Internet Literacy; Legal, Social and
Ethical Issues; Patent Law.REFERENCES
Anticybersquatting Consumer Protection Act of 1999
(ACPA) (15 U.S.C.§1129). Retrieved May 9, 2003, from
http://www4.law.cornell.edu/uscode/15/1129.html
Bicknell, C. (1999). Making a mint on wallstreet.com.
Wired News. Retrieved December 1, 2002, from http://
http://www.wired.com/news/business/0,1367,19285,00.html
Brookfield Communications, Inc., v. West Coast Enter-
tainment Corp., 174. F.3d 1036 (9th Cir. 1999).
Coca-Cola Co. v. Gemini Rising, Inc., 346 F. Supp. 1183
(E.D.N.Y. 1972).
Hormel Foods Corp. v. Jim Henson Productions, 73 F.3d
497 (2d Cir. 1996).
ICANN Uniform Dispute Resolution Policy (2001).
Retrieved December 1, 2002, from http://www.icann.
org/udrp/udrp.htm
Intermatic Incorporated v. Toeppen, 947 F.Supp. 1227
(N.D. Ill. 1996). Retrieved December 1, 2002, from
http://www.jmls.edu/cyber/cases/intermat.html