Please answer the questions on the attached document below by following the guidelines.
4.1 Write it Right is the trademark of a word processing program developed by Ronnie who works for Allin Computers as an employee. Though Ronnie wrote the computer game, Allin employees managed the promotion and marketing and got the program ready for the general public use. Write It Right is a huge commercial success and Ronnie wants a piece of the pie. He is willing to accept a better salary and royalties. Allin declines, so Ronnie decides to leave and take his program with him, including the trademark. Who has legal rights to the trademark?
4.2 In the Appalachian area there is a wonderful small business called The Beauty of Birthdays. Everyone in the area knows that this business can make anything special for those attending events they cater and direct. Can this trademark be registered?
4.3 What types of marks are the following?
- SALOMAN used on skies
- SALOMAN Brothers used for investment advising services
- Fraser River Salmon Coop, used to indicate that fish were farmed by a member of this coop
- Superior Quality Shetland Salmon, which may be used by any salmon farm that meets specified quality standards and conclusions
- The Cannery Row image of a fish food restaurant chain, with décor and menu that evokes the flophouses and sardine canneries of long ago Monterey, CA.
4.4 The local sports store, “Move,†sells used golf balls. The move buys them from enterprising collectors (including scuba divers), cleans them up, restores them and reattached the trademark, then sells them. Move doesn’t want to be sued for trademark infringement but wants consumers to know they are buying brand name golf balls. Can Move use the trademarks without infringing and without burying it in paragraphs of explanatory text?
4.5 Ron creates a precision tool to fix brakes on cars. He calls it RedLight and he has a federal trademark registration. A few states over, Joey has a business where he produces high-end artsy interior design tables and he calls them RedLight. Joey’s business is about 6 years old. Ron learns about Joey’s high-end tables and sends him a cease-and-desist letter claiming that he has a federally registered trademark, so, only he could use the name RedLight for his products. Must Joey stop using the name RedLight for his products?
4.6 Nicole is a serious tech geek. She has a website for her real estate business and has learned some tricks to get people who might have an interest in her houses to read her website. One of the things she does is embed high-end fashion designer names throughout her website. The embedded trademarks are not seen by humans, but the computers searching for data pick up on it. She hopes it will lead to her being included on some beneficial websites. Is this infringement?
4.7 With large businesses having substantial retained earnings, there has been a shift in strategies to invest in other businesses. At one time, there would have been mergers with businesses in the same industry. But because the large businesses may run into problems with the Sherman Antitrust Act and their large market share, these businesses are acquiring businesses in different industries. Will this mean that the trademarks owned by businesses who are buying up entities in different markets, will be able to claim a monopoly on trademarks also?
Guidelines |
Examine both sides of the issue.
It is important to think systematically about these questions. Do not just evaluate on the basis od how 1 person would be affected, but think how the entire system (whether it’s the economic system, the political system, or the innovative system) that will be affected.
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