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State Trademark Rights and Statutes (Committee 204) The 2003 Moseley decision made it more difficult for trademark owners to obtain relief from dilution under the Federal Trademark Dilution Act (FTDA). While legislative proposals abound in Congress, the text of the FTDA is unchanged. This raises a question about the degree to which trademark owners have found any success in obtaining dilution-like relief under the myriad of state dilution statutes. Even if the FTDA revisions in Congress are accepted, the state dilution laws may be a good option for trademark owners. The current bill raises the bar on the level of national fame needed to bring a case, and state statutes probably are better than the FTDA at protecting niche fame marks now and under the new legislation if it passes. Committee 204 examines the state trademark law, including the individual state dilution statutes and the Model Trademark Bills. A recent count shows that 35 states have dilution statutes in place. The committee will study the text of those statutes and their treatment in courts of law to evaluate whether changes to the statutory text would be appropriate, and further, to evaluate whether recommendations should be made for particular changes. Committee 204 welcomes input and participation from any Section member. Contact Committee Chair Kristine M. Boylan at 612-371-5295 or
Sano, Committee Chair, introduced the new Committee Vice-Chair, Former ITC ALJ Delbert Terrill, who also gave a PowerPoint presentation at this meeting on trends in ITC 337 proceedings, including insights and perspectives from the bench. Possible future meeting schedules and agenda items were discussed. The next committee meeting is planned to take place in the fall.
The 21st Annual Intellectual Property Law Conference is slated for April 6-8, 2006. Program Co-Chairs Amy Benjamin and Monique Morneault are in the process of organizing what promises to be another comprehensive conference on the state of intellectual property law. Speakers will include representatives from industry, practitioners from the U.S. and abroad, and key policy makers from the federal government. Enlightening luncheon speakers representing NASCAR and Ford Motor Company will address the participants on particular issues of IP law facing their respective organizations. As IP practitioners are faced with an array of new issues and areas of practice with multi-faceted dimensions, the conference is developed to address these complexities. The broad diversity of the practice, its accelerating rate of change, and its growing international importance place ever-increasing demands on the knowledge and skills of IP practitioners. The 21st Annual Intellectual Property Law Conference will present recent developments in IP law and cover the broad array of IP law issues. The conference will once again be co-sponsored by the ABA Section of Science & Technology Law, who will coordinate with the Section of Intellectual Property Law to present a panel on issues of importance to both fields. In addition to IP issues, an ethics panel will present the latest information on legal ethics. The conference will once again take place at the Crystal Gateway Marriott Hotel, in Arlington, Virginia. It will be preceded by a one-day program on Practical Tips on Intellectual PropertyLaw on Wednesday, April 5, 2006. This program will provide background information on patent and trademark law to bring the new practitioner in IP law up to speed with the nuts and bolts of IP law practice. For detailed information as it becomes available, watch the Section website at www.abanet.org/intelprop. Online registration will be available for both the 21st Annual Intellectual Property Law Conference and the one-day Practical Tips program in early January. Mark your calendars now, and plan to attend the one conference of the year that an IP law practitioner should not miss. |
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