After the Supreme Court vacated and remanded its prior decision, the Ninth Circuit again reversed the lower court's grant of summary judgment in KP Permanent Make-Up, Inc. v. Lasting Impressions I, Inc. on May 19, 2005.

The Ninth Circuit decision is available here.

My colleague Chad Doellinger has a new article appearing in  the John Marshall Law School Review of Intellectual Property Law:

"Recent Developments in Trademark Law: Confusion, Free Speech and the Question of Use."

Contact Chad here with your questions and comments.

Karaoke not not permitted copyright parody according to South District of Indiana decision issued March 29, 2005, in Morganactive Songs v. K & M Fox Inc.

A recent decision by the Ninth Circuit confirms that "commercial use" by the defendant is required for a Lanham Act trademark or dilution claim, but is not required in a cybersquatting claim under the ACPA.

Michael Kremer, a dissatisfied hair transplant patient, used the domain name www.BosleyMedical.com as a site critical to the Bosley Medical Institute, a hair transplant clinic. Bosley sued. The district court entered summary judgment for Kremer on the grounds that his conduct was not commercial.  See Bosley Medical Institute, Inc. v. Bosley Medical Group, 2005 U.S. App. LEXIS 5329 (9^th Cir., April 4, 2005).

Kremer's ...   more »

Panelist Scott Donahey awards Wal-Mart the domain name www.samwalton.com in this recent decision:  Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. and Mrs. Helen Walton v. Bestinfo/David Webb, Case No. D2005-0086 (WIPO March 25, 2005).

A key issue in UDRP actions involving personal names is the finding that the name is protectable as a common law mark, the the Policy does not provide protection for personal names per se.

The Panel finds as follows on that point:

. . . Complainant Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. has common law rights in the trademark SAM WALTON by virtue of its prominent and continuous use in conjunction with ...   more »