Likelihood of Success

LIKELIHOOD OF CONFUSION®

• Copyright: Creative is as creative does May 17, 2013
  Most of my writing here about copyright law concerns the misuse and abuse of its heavily pro-plaintiff provisions such that there is little or no incentive against the filing of meritless claims of infringement.  In particular I have focused on scams such as Righthaven, the now-defunct copyright trolling operation, and the use or threatened use […]
• Free speech for hosers May 14, 2013
  Originally posted 2007-04-04 23:38:57. Republished by Blog Post PromoterThe headline: “Canada to trademark [sic] ‘winter’ for 2010 Olympics.” The funny thing is I thought they already had a pretty good monopoly on winter! […]
• The not so bright line May 14, 2013
  The preamble of the Lanham Act Section 2 is followed by six lower-case–lettered sections, the fifth of which contains four separately numbered “grounds” on which it is permissible to refuse registration. No form of the word “generic” is to be found anywhere in any of them. How, then, does the USPTO prevent registration of generic names […]
• Don’t play games! May 9, 2013
  Originally posted 2008-01-24 15:30:04. Republished by Blog Post PromoterNolo’s Patent, Copyright, and Trademark Blog links to this story here in answering the question, “How do I create a non-infringing board game”?” […]
• Semaphores and metales May 9, 2013
  Originally posted 2007-01-23 17:16:51. Republished by Blog Post PromoterTwo kinds of analogy, as scrambled by an old and dear friend. Evidently, there is another kind. John Welch writes about a TTAB decision cancelling trademark registrations based on the petitioners use of the mark, for purposes of avoiding a defense of abandonment against the putative seni […]