Scientology seems to do a lot better with the Internal Revenue Code than with the Copyright Act: A Colorado nonprofit group has won a critical round in a legal fight against the Church of Scientology, raising questions about whether Scientology has a legal right to keep hundreds of documents offline and out of the public […] The post Scientology pushed back on copyright appeared first on LIKELIHOOD OF CONFUSION ..read more

There are more developments on social-networking brand management, as you would expect.  Nick O’Neill at the All Facebook Blog writes:  This morning I got an email from the owner of the “Cristiano Ronaldo” public profile stating that he had been disable[d] after attracting over 2.85 million fans. The reason? Most likely because the public profile […] The post “The Facebook Police” and likelihood of confusion appeared first on LIKELIHOOD OF CONFUSION ..read more

Far be it from me to be a malcontent, but one problem we have around here is that the copyright and trademark statutes have changed very little to reflect the way we consume “content” today — or, worse, especially in the case of copyright, they represent a rearguard action amounting to denial of this change, […] The post How Web Content Consumption Has Evolved appeared first on LIKELIHOOD OF CONFUSION ..read more

@EricGoldman: Web host Akanoc hit with $32M contributory TM judgment for customers’ counterfeiting http://bit.ly/3BR6ZW Whoa. More to come … Louis Vuitton v. Akanoc jury verdict http://bit.ly/OCNwr & Aug. dismissal motion http://bit.ly/A1WQ7 My Jan. blog post http://bit.ly/4tYgZ5 Whoa?!  How can this be!  Isn’t all the traffic in the other direction on contributory infringement?  Isn’t that unthinking […] The post Not all ISP’s are created equal appeared first on LIKELIHOOD OF CONFUSION ..read more

From the WSJ Law Blog: A French court today cracked down on counterfeits — and an outlet that sells them — ordering eBay to pay Louis Vuitton and other luxury brands — Kenzo, Guerlain, Dior and Givenchy — $63.1 million in damages for auctioning fake goods. Here’s the early story from WSJ. . . . […] The post Home cookin’ a la mode, with a most undeserving dessert appeared first on LIKELIHOOD OF CONFUSION ..read more

It appears that the movers and shakers of law-related blogging are going to do a Blog Conference for Lawyers in San Francisco in April. These are the real, happening law bloggers — just ask them — so you won’t want to miss it, because it will be “the first comprehensive CLE to look at blogging […] The post Blawg Review: Blog Conference for Lawyers appeared first on LIKELIHOOD OF CONFUSION ..read more

Tune in to hear @theslants lawyer @RonColeman say: “Section 2(a) of the Lanham Act is unconstitutional on its face” https://t.co/whj9oI8EjO — Ed Timberlake (@TimberlakeLaw) October 2, 2015 That’s probably the best way to write this post; indeed, I sat down before completing my allotted time on rebuttal on Friday, before the Federal Circuit en banc […] The post Friday in Washington with a dozen of my closest friends appeared first on LIKELIHOOD OF CONFUSION ..read more

I’ve been focusing on Google and its ersatz trademark policy, but meanwhile the Google copyright train — arguably the bigger story — has left the station.  Here’s one way to catch up: A piece called “The Motivation Behind the Anti-Google Copyright Protection Coalition.” Originally posted 2011-05-23 16:57:11. Republished by Blog Post Promoter The post Google tumult appeared first on LIKELIHOOD OF CONFUSION ..read more

This item’s title would be a good name for a “Hardy Boys” book, but no, we’re talking about Bayport, Minnesota, home of the Anderson Corporation, not the home town of those All-American detective brothers. Still, a mystery remains: Is it easier to convince yourself an argument passes the “red-face test” or “smell test” before the […] The post The Defenestration of Bayport appeared first on LIKELIHOOD OF CONFUSION ..read more

First posted on February 17, 2005. Wired reports on a new book whose thrust, evidently, aligns decently well with my own little personal views (and not just mine): Brand Name Bullies. Says the review in Wired: To prove his point that the commons is under attack, Bollier has filled Bullies with example after example of […] The post Best of 2005: Culture Killers or Pains in the Neck? appeared first on LIKELIHOOD OF CONFUSION ..read more