iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

margo bagley & christine haight farley: "when procedure becomes policy: the hidden substantive effects of the design law treaty" is international design law a thing? WIPO has adopted two new treaties, so it might be a thing now! GRATK & RDLT

153

Reposted by Jake Linford

pantone has a TM in PANTONE & PANTONE MATCHING SYSTEM for color forecasting & services & its chip that it uses to promote colors does it have copyright in its booklets? pre-feist it enjoined another co. from producing similar booklets (facilitated selection/matching)

Reposted by Jake Linford

what role does the standardization of creative information have on the recognition of IP rights, including trademark & copyright, in creative industries?

Reposted by Jake Linford

can brands that standardize creative info make legal claims to those standards? what is the essence of a standard?

Reposted by Jake Linford

proposals, w/ truthfulness as organizing principle: *reimagine failure to function *expand abandonment doctrine *strong duty of candor *expand standing to include consumers

031

Reposted by Jake Linford

problems w/ current framework: there's a doctrinal gap between false ad & trademark law focus on literal deception leaves space for "license to cheat" & erodes consumer trust in trademarks

Reposted by Jake Linford

ramsey: matter w/ preexisting informational, expressive, or decorative value in an industry or community before it was claimed as a mark should fail to function

021

Reposted by Jake Linford

so focus on the goods/services (t-shirts or refrigerators?), content of the mark, location or likely location of the mark

Reposted by Jake Linford

or at least let's be clear on the burden of proof--it should be clear & convincing evidence that something is generic if that mean it's going to be fatally unprotectable & "key aspect" needs to go, vs. "immediately convey"--too blurry a test

021

Reposted by Jake Linford

lorelai ritchie, "question mark (TM)": what if there's no such thing as genericness, only degrees of descriptiveness? it's a spectrum, not an absolute. #wipip26

132

Reposted by Jake Linford

disckson likes the farley/@LPRamsey proposal: dft would have initial burden of showing use is informational or expressive; burden shifts to plaintiff to show it's a false statement/likely to mislead

031

Reposted by Jake Linford

stuart semple: believes color marks they shouldn't exist, so makes art materials as cultural critique, not for profit (easy klein blue, tiffany blue) he does understand color trademarks but misrepresents intentionally

221

Reposted by Jake Linford

rachael dickson @tudorsandtms.bsky.social: "the art of trademark disobedience" #wipip26 dickson argues current fair use tests are often insufficient for protecting speech & expression using trademarks as a form of civil disobedience

181

Reposted by Jake Linford

3rd parties rely on pantone to ground their TM rights with reference to pantone numbers in their registrations rights seem based on value creation, systemic organization of commons material, gap exploitation through contract law, authenticity & consistency, interoperability

021

Reposted by Jake Linford

are these booklets really original? does copyright in them give pantone some copyright by extension in the system, which should be part of the public domain? can taxonomies be copyrightable? we have a circuit split on that currently.

Mrs. Detective PikaBOO, Esq. @clapifyoulikeme.favrd.social · 28/02/2026

Reposted by Jake Linford

With alt text. I’ve…never seen a court talk like this before?

VI.
FINAL NOTICE
This Memorandum Opinion and Order serves as explicit notice to all officials-state and
federal involved in the detention of individuals whose cases come before this court.
Continued detention without individualized custody determinations, after this court's
repeated holdings that such detention violates the Fifth Amendment, will result in legal consequences. For state jail officials, those consequences include personal civil liability without qualified immunity protection. For federal officials, those consequences include exercise of this
court's full inherent authority to enforce constitutional compliance including contempt.

312115609

Reposted by Jake Linford

deepa varadarajan kicking off the post-lunch trade secrets panel at #wipip26 with "considering misappropriation's purpose"

132

Reposted by Jake Linford

kicking off our last #wipip26 panel with felicia caponigri, "a pantone prerogative: defining the privilege to standardize color" how does pantone's mission to standardize (& forecast) color intersect with intellectual property?

153

Reposted by Jake Linford

trade secret societies! @jeannefromer.bsky.social #wipip26 the psychology & sociology of secrecy are at the core of what's being protected by TS law but the law hasn't done much grappling with it

173

Reposted by Jake Linford

what does distinctiveness mean? we need to focus on whether a symbol is actually indicating source in the marketplace w/ DRIVE SAFELY, ttab said even though people do associate the phrase w/ volvo, it still isn't functioning as a mark

Reposted by Jake Linford

or maybe we should add a statutory defense for use of a mark other than as a trademark?

211

Reposted by Jake Linford

"trademark use, failure to function doctrine, & free speech" with @LPRamsey should the US explicitly adopt a tm use requirement for infringement liability? how do we determine whether use is use as a mark? when does a sign fail to function?

132

Reposted by Jake Linford

zombie marks: resurrected by firms w/ no ties to original producer, using residual goodwill or notoriety--may create consumer mistrust of the trademark system (what are the consequences of consumer mistrust of TM system?)

Reposted by Jake Linford

examples: masking marks: connection b/w mark & product has changed, but the consumer doesn't know, e.g. philip morris changing to altria to avoid negative associations for food products w/ tobacco or "masquerading as the same thing": splenda's change from natural to artificial

Reposted by Jake Linford

"truthmarks," aman gebru *TM owners misuse their marks in ways that conflict w/ TM policy goals *recalibration of current doctrines can create a heightened truthfulness requirement that helps address issue

Reposted by Jake Linford

every category leaks, as @linfordinfo has also argued arbitrary marks smuggle in symbolic, cultural meaning

011

Reposted by Jake Linford

shd we treat arbitrary marks as presumptively weaker than fanciful? (do we not already?) shd arbitrary marks not be automatically entitled to the broadest scope of protection? cultural screen at registration given the appropriation going on? should we require secondary meaning?

Reposted by Jake Linford

so what? 1. genAI T&C eviscerate copyright owner's exclusivity 2. users exposed to liability risk 3. moot democratic deliberation on copyright law & policy

011

Reposted by Jake Linford

reps & warranties: most include R&Ws that you have all necessary rights & permissions and won't infringe others' rights by submitting through prompt that's a hook for the indemnification clause, ofc--you indemnify the genAI co for damages they suffer as a result of breach

Reposted by Jake Linford

next on the copyright & AI panel: @apublicgood.bsky.social (andres sawicki) on genAI's IP terms & conditions

122

Reposted by Jake Linford

justin koo: "direct copyright liability & a licensing mechanism for online platforms" #wipip26

011

Reposted by Jake Linford

"circuit court judge valentine issued an order in favor of hunter house, requiring better burgers to put up appropriate signage by friday. by monday, BB must put signage over the entrance of the building that is no smaller than the original 'hunter house' sign."

001

Reposted by Jake Linford

Hunter House sues new Birmingham burger spot, judge orders changes

hunter house sues burger join in its old location for vague "total image & appearance" trade dress, citing "distinctive white, flat-roofed building, prominent standalone 'hamburgers' & 'carryout' signage, & a unique interior w/ counter, stools & a grill." www.detroitnews.com/story/entert...

detroitnews.com

Hunter House alleges a new restaurant in its former location is trying to confuse customers, but the new spot says the white-tiled look is ubiquitous.

221

Reposted by Jake Linford

instead of relying on exclusion & destruction, landry argues courts could focus on duty to account for profits and "nemo dat quod non habet"

001

Reposted by Jake Linford

the use of exclusion and destruction shift the default rules of copyright coownership out of alignment with copyright's normative commitments both reduce access; exclusion also reduces incentive

101

Reposted by Jake Linford

ben landry: "the rights of joint owners in american copyright law: reframing the default rules" #wipip26

122

Reposted by Jake Linford

kicking of day 2 of #wipip26 with dustin marlan & "the arbitrary myth" judge friendly in abercrombie treats arbitrary marks as just as inherently distinctive as fanciful ones, but that's based on myth

Reposted by Jake Linford

"you'll boo me when you hear my hypothesis & that's ok" are less educated consumers more likely to be confused?

041

Reposted by Jake Linford

this seems to be a flaw in a lot of trademark surveys--though many surveys (and studies about surveys) don't track or weight all of these factors

Reposted by Jake Linford