August 26, 2021 

 

Law 760 Trademarks and Unfair Competition

Jessica Litman
University of Michigan Law School

Tentative Syllabus

We will be using the 7th edition of Jane C. Ginsburg, Jessica Litman, and Mary Kevlin, Trademark and Unfair Competition Law: Cases and Materials, forthcoming from Carolina Academic Press in 2022. The Casebook hasn't been published yet, and we will be using the page proofs until it is.

Once the book is published, I recommend that you purchase the looseleaf edition, which costs $75, rather than the hardbound edition or copy-protected ebook, which are much more expensive. Meanwhile, this syllabus is *very* tentative. (I have posted the first page proofs. When I get the second page proofs, I will post that file -- probably, the page numbers will change. If you notice typographical errors, please shoot me an email so that I can ask the publisher to repair them.)

If you are taking the class, please rely on the version of the syllabus that is posted on Canvas, since I will be paying more attention to whether that version is up to date.

Makeup class: There will be no class on Thursday September 16. I have scheduled a makeup class for Friday September 17 at 2:10 pm

Assignments:

• August 30, September 1, September 2:
  • Reading Assignment:   Casebook pp. 3-81 (Prologue, Chapters 1, 2.A.1) 
  • Viewing Assignment: Explore the links to the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office posted here  
• September 8, 9:
  • Reading Assignment: 
    • Casebook pp. 81-153 (finish Chapter 2)
    • Lanham Act §§ 1, 2, 3, 4, 45 (the Lanham Act is in Appendix A to the Casebook)
    • Trademark Manual of Examining Procedure § 1301
  • Viewing Assignment:
  • Compare Pocky chocolate covered biscuit sticks with Lotte Peppero stick biscuits
  • Visit the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame
  • Shop for a t-shirt at Smack Apparel
  • Watch Chrysler's 2011 Superbowl commercial
  • Shop at Pure Detroit
  • Optional: Read about the 2011 BBC original series Would You Rather? With Graham Norton and then watch the trailer for the 2012 theatrical film Would You Rather?
  • Writing Assignment due September 8
• September 13, 15, 17:
  (no class on Thursday 9/16; Makeup class on Friday 9/17 at 2:10 pm)
  • Reading Assignment:
  • Casebook pp. 155-203 (Chapter 3)
  • Lanham Act § 1(a)
  • Trademark Manual of Examining Procedure 1212
  • Viewing Assignment:
  • Visit the website for Exposé
  • View the Commodores’ current website. Then, visit the website of Thomas McClary: The First Commodore
  • Buy some Jack & Jones jeans
  • Check up on Dawn Donuts
  • Writing Assignment due September 14
• September 20, 22, 23:
  • Reading Assignment:
    • Casebook pp. 205-55 (Chapter 4A, 4B)
    • Lanham Act §§ 1(b), 2, 13, 22
    • Sonia Katyal, Brands Behaving Badly, 109 TMR 819 (2019)
  • Viewing Assignment
  • Apply to register a trademark or service mark
  • Writing Assignment due September 21: search TESS
• September 27, 29, 30:
  • Reading Assignment
    • Casebook pp. 255-331 (finish Chapter 4)
    • Lanham Act § 2
    • Optional: Trademark Manual of Examining Procedure §§ 1202, 1207, 1210
  • Viewing Assignment
    • Visit Person’s
    • Shop for a JPK Paris 75 handbag
    • Listen to a few sound marks
  • Writing Assignment due September 28: Find confusingly similar marks
• October 4, 6, 7:

  Guest Lecture Monday October 4:  Kate Dennis Nye (JD 2009), Gap, Inc.

  • Reading Assignment
    • Casebook pp. 333-68, 397-434 (Chapter 5.A.1, 5.A.2, 5.B)
    • Lanham Act §§ 14, 45
  • Viewing Assignment: TBA
  • Writing Assignment: Stautory Drafting Exercise # 1
• October 11, 13, 14:
  • Reading Assignment
  • Casebook pp. 435-91 (Chapter 6.A, 6.B.1, 6.B.2)
  • Lanham Act §§ 14, 32, 45
  • Viewing Assignment: TBA
  • Writing Assignment due October 12
• October 20, 21:
  No class October 18
  • Reading Assignment: Casebook Chapter 491-554 (finish Chapter 6)
  • Viewing Assignment: TBA
  • Writing Assignment due October 19
• October 25, 27, 28:
  • Reading Assignment:
    • Casebook pp. 555-636 (Chapter 7)
    • Lanham Act § 43(a)
  • Viewing Assignment: TBA
  • Writing Assignment: Stautory Drafting Exercise # 2
• November 1, 3, 4:

  Guest Lecture Wednesday November 4: Tina Pompey (J.D. 1986) Walt Disney Company

  • Reading Assignment
    • Casebook pp. 645-726 (Chapter 8.A., 8.B.1, 8.B.2.)
    • Lanham Act §§ 15, 33
  • Viewing Assignment: TBA
  • Writing Assignment due Tuesday November 2
• November 8, 10, 11:
  • Reading Assignment
    • Casebook pp. 726-800 (Chapters 8.B.3, 8.B.4., 8.C., 9.A.)
    • Lanham Act §§ 43(c), 45
  • Viewing Assignment: TBA
  • Writing Assignment due November 9
• November 15, 17, 18:
  • Reading Assignment
    • Casebook pp. 800-874 (Chapter 9.B.1.c., 9.B.1.d., 9.B.2)
    • Lanham Act § 43(c)
  • Viewing Assignment: TBA
  • Writing Assignment due November 16: define dilution
• November 22:
  • Reading Assignment
    • Casebook pp. 875-951 (Chapter 10)
    • Lanham Act § 43(a)
  • Viewing Assignment: TBA
  • Writing Assignment: Statutory Drafting Exercise #3
• November 29, December 1, 2:

  (Bring your laptops to class on Wednesday December 1 to complete teaching evaluations during the first 15 minutes of class.)

  • Reading Assignment:
    • Casebook pp. 1053-1121 (Chapter 12.A., 12.B.)
    • Lanham Act §§ 29, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 40, 45
  • Viewing Assignment: TBA
  • Writing Assignment due Tuesday November 30

Learing Outcomes:

• Over the course of the semester, you will become well-versed in the provisions of the trademark statute and its construction by courts
• You will gain sophistication in evaluating and responding to advertising, marketing and product packaging
• You will gain skill in reading, interpreting, and writing statutory language
• You will have many opportunities to examine the degree to which the current trademark law is well-designed to achieve the sometimes conflicting goals of encouraging competition, protecting consumers from confusion or deception, and enabling businesses to build and protect goodwill for their products.

Class Participation, Recording, and Attendance:

• Each week, I will designate a group of you as "on call," and expect you to be available and prepared for cold calls for every class that week. I will also rely heavily on volunteers.
• In the event that you find a particular topic too painful to discuss or are otherwise unable to participate in a particular class discussion, let me know, and I will instead call on you in a later class.
• All classes will be recorded, and the recordings will be available via Canvas.
• The American Bar Association requires all law schools to enforce a policy requiring regular attendance. If you feel sick, don't come to school. Listen to the recording instead.
• It is the policy and desire of the Law School to provide reasonable accommodations for students with disabilities. Students who may require some type of accommodation should speak with Dean Lindsey Stetson in the Office of Student Life (734-764-0516) or the University Services for Students with Disabilities at https://ssd.umich.edu/

Weekly Writing Assignments:

• Every week I will ask you to turn in a very short essay or other writing assignment. The assignments are ungraded, but mandatory: you will not earn credit for the course unless you have completed all 13 assignments. You are welcome to collaborate with other students in the class on any of the assignments, but you must each turn in your own copy via Canvas in order to get credit. Ten of the assignments are short essays of between 100 and 150 words. Three of the assignments are statutory drafting exercises with a word limit of 300 words. Most of the assignments are due at 9:00 am on Tuesday mornings. I will accept late assignments for reduced credit until 5:00 pm on December 6, but if you turn multiple assignments in late you should anticipate a grade reduction.

Final Exam:

• The examination in this course is a four-hour, open-book exam scheduled for December 16 at 1:00 p.m.

Office Hours

• I will hold office hours every week on Wednesday afternoons from 3:00 to 4:00 pm. If that's not a good time for you, we can make an appointment for a different time. My office is in 432 Hutchins Hall, and the phone number there is 615-0594.

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Send me an email message: jdlitman at umich.edu

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