“Dilution” remains one of the most controversial concepts in trademark law throughout the world. However, while dilution by “blurring” has received sustained criticism for decades, relatively little scholarly attention has been paid to the other limb of dilution, namely...

Trademark litigation in America today is undergoing a profound change. Based on a review of all trademark cases reported since the Lanham Act took effect, this article concludes that this profound change is due to quot;trademark extortion,quot; the use of strike suits and the like to deter...

Cet article examine dans quelle mesure le système du droit des marques tient compte de la liberté d'expression, en général, et le droit à la parodie, en particulier. L'étude analyse tout d'abord les dispositions légales et la jurisprudence relative à cette question dans le Benelux et la...

This is a forward to the issue of Chicago-Kent Law Review that focuses on intellectual property law. Several people commented on intellectual property from their own academic perspectives for the issue. Their responses developed along two themes - questioning the nature of the author’s claim...

This article presents a new theoretical framework for evaluating the proportion of a product's surplus attributable to intellectual property (IP, such as patents or trademarks). It is used to explain the empirically observed differences between the use patterns of IP in industries based on...

The aim of this paper is to summarise the extant theory as it relates to the economics of trademark, and to give some suggestions for further research with reference to distinct streams of literature. The proposed line of study inevitably looks at the complex relationship between signs and...

Trademark dilution needs to be rethought to ensure that it enhances social welfare. Blurring should only be considered harmful when it increases consumer search costs. The fact that a trademark calls to mind two different products should not itself be considered actionable. Blurring only causes...

The paper analyzes parallel imports, or goods traded without the authorization of a trademark owner. Parallel imports have multiple causes, including vertical price control, which the authors model. A manufacturer selling its product through an independent agent sets the wholesale price...

Aside from the benefits that trademarks provide society, nothing inherently special about them warrants granting an exclusive in them interest to users. Trademarks benefit society by providing information about and identification of the products that consumers wish to buy. This informational and...

In a series of cases spanning more than one hundred years, courts and the US patent office have made clear that design patents are not to be justified by a fact that the newly invented ornamental design aids in distinguishing a company's product from those of its competitors. This article...