Archive for the ‘Trademark’ Category
EBay Fraud Lawsuit Could Affect E-Commerce
“A year ago Jacqui Rogers, a retiree in southern Oregon who dabbles in vintage costume jewelry, went on eBay and bought 10 butterfly brooches made by Weiss, a well-known maker of high-quality costume jewelry in the 1950’s and 1960’s. At first, Ms. Rogers thought she had snagged a great deal. But when the jewelry arrived from a seller in Rhode Island, her well-trained eye told her that all of the pieces were knockoffs.
“Even though Ms. Rogers received a refund after she confronted the seller, eBay refused to remove hundreds of listings for identical “Weiss” pieces. It said it had no responsibility for the fakes because it was nothing more than a marketplace that links buyers and sellers.
“That very stance is now being challenged by eBay users like Ms. Rogers who notify other unsuspecting buyers of fakes on the site. And it is being tested by a jewelry seller with far greater resources than Ms. Rogers: Tiffany & Company, which has sued eBay for facilitating the trade of counterfeit Tiffany items on the site.”
Katie Hafner. Seeing Fakes, Angry Traders Confront EBay. The New York Times. Jan. 29, 2006.
CopyCense™: K. Matthew Dames on the intersection of business, law and technology. A business venture of Seso Digital LLC.
Patent & Trademark Applications at All-Time High
“In fiscal year 2005 [which ended Sept. 30], the Department of Commerce’s United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) received a record number of patent and trademark applications. The agency received 406,302 patent applications, and 323,501 applications for trademark registration as reported in its fiscal year 2005 Performance and Accountability Report.
“The USPTO granted 165,485 patents, including 151,079 utility (inventions), 13,395 design, and 816 plant patents. Since 1790, over seven million U.S. patents have been granted.
“The USPTO registered 143,396 trademarks and renewed 32,279 registrations in fiscal year 2005. Over 3 million trademarks have been registered since the first in 1870. At the end of fiscal year 2005, there were 1,255,570 active trademark registrations.”
U.S. Patent & Trademark Office. 2005 Performance and Accountability Report. (.pdf, 5.75 MB) Nov. 22, 2005.
CopyCense™: K. Matthew Dames on the intersection of business, law and technology. A business venture of Seso Digital LLC.
Patent & Trademark Applications at All-Time High
“In fiscal year 2005 [which ended Sept. 30], the Department of Commerce’s United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) received a record number of patent and trademark applications. The agency received 406,302 patent applications, and 323,501 applications for trademark registration as reported in its fiscal year 2005 Performance and Accountability Report.
“The USPTO granted 165,485 patents, including 151,079 utility (inventions), 13,395 design, and 816 plant patents. Since 1790, over seven million U.S. patents have been granted.
“The USPTO registered 143,396 trademarks and renewed 32,279 registrations in fiscal year 2005. Over 3 million trademarks have been registered since the first in 1870. At the end of fiscal year 2005, there were 1,255,570 active trademark registrations.”
U.S. Patent & Trademark Office. 2005 Performance and Accountability Report. (.pdf, 5.75 MB) Nov. 22, 2005.
CopyCense™: K. Matthew Dames on the intersection of business, law and technology. A business venture of Seso Digital LLC.
Conference Session Discusses IP Issues in Search
“A panel of experts debated a number of hot legal issues during the Copyrights & Trademarks panel at SES.
“How can web site owners get links to material infringing their copyrighted materials out of search engine results? What recourse do web site owners have if their sites were removed unfairly from search engine results due to an unfair or unfounded accusation of copyright infringement?
“Do web site owners have trademark protection rights and responsibilities in search engine advertisements? This session explored these and many other issues, in particular looking at some recent rulings and existing search engine policies.
Grant Crowell. Copyrights, Trademarks and Search Engines. SearchEngineWatch. Oct. 20, 2005.
CopyCense™: K. Matthew Dames on the intersection of business, law and technology. A business venture of Seso Digital LLC.
Google Loses Mail Trademark in U.K.
“Google stopped using the Gmail name in the United Kingdom on Wednesday, ending a trademark dispute for now.
“The Gmail service there is now known as Googlemail.
“A Google representative said that the search giant decided to change the suffix after protracted wranglings with research firm Independent International Investment Research (IIIR), which uses the name G-mail to refer to a part of its financial analytics software.”
Jo Best. Google Gives Up on Gmail Name in U.K. News.com. Oct. 19, 2005.
CopyCense™: K. Matthew Dames on the intersection of business, law and technology. A business venture of Seso Digital LLC.
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