What intellectual property lawyers can learn from Barbra Streisand, Sepp Blatter, and the "Coca-Cola cry-baby" : dealing with "trademark bullying" in South Africa
"Being a monopolist" is, apparently, akin to going on drugs or joining some strange religious sect. It seems to lead to complete loss of any sense of what profitable opportunities are and of how free markets function. Monopolists, apparently, can conceive of only one way of making money, a...
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| Published in | Potchefstroom electronic law journal Vol. 16; no. 5; pp. 1 - 42 |
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| Main Author | |
| Format | Journal Article |
| Language | English Portuguese Afrikaans |
| Published |
North-West University
01.01.2013
North-West University (Potchefstroom Campus) |
| Subjects | |
| Online Access | Get full text |
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| Abstract | "Being a monopolist" is, apparently, akin to going on drugs or joining some strange religious sect. It seems to lead to complete loss of any sense of what profitable opportunities are and of how free markets function. Monopolists, apparently, can conceive of only one way of making money, and that is by bullying consumers and competitors to put up and shut up. Furthermore, it also appears to mean that past mistakes have to be repeated at a larger, and ever more ridiculous, scale. |
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| AbstractList | "Being a monopolist" is, apparently, akin to going on drugs or joining some strange religious sect. It seems to lead to complete loss of any sense of what profitable opportunities are and of how free markets function. Monopolists, apparently, can conceive of only one way of making money, and that is by bullying consumers and competitors to put up and shut up. Furthermore, it also appears to mean that past mistakes have to be repeated at a larger, and ever more ridiculous, scale. This article suggests some pause for reflection amongst intellectual property lawyers, and for serious consideration of the words of an internationally-renowned IP law expert: "Possessing a right does not mean that it is a good idea to enforce it always, and to the hilt. Discretion may be nine parts of possession". It provides some prominent, recent examples of trademark bullying or overly-aggressive enforcement in the IP law context. These examples are mainly from other jurisdictions but they are directly relevant to some of the IP law challenges present in South Africa at the moment. The article further examines why lawyers and rights' holders engage in trademark bullying (why it's done), and start to deal briefly with some of the legal implications. A future article is to examine the legal aspects of trademark bullying in much more detail and considers its legitimacy within the context of IP law, more generally, and some other areas of law, more specifically. Reprinted by permission of the Potchefstroom Faculty of Law, Northwest University, South Africa This article suggests some pause for reflection amongst intellectual property lawyers, and for serious consideration of the words of an internationally-renowned IP law expert: "Possessing a right does not mean that it is a good idea to enforce it always, and to the hilt. Discretion may be nine parts of possession". It provides some prominent, recent examples of trademark bullying or overly-aggressive enforcement in the IP law context. These examples are mainly from other jurisdictions but they are directly relevant to some of the IP law challenges present in South Africa at the moment. The article further examines why lawyers and rights' holders engage in trademark bullying (why it's done), and start to deal briefly with some of the legal implications. A future article is to examine the legal aspects of trademark bullying in much more detail and considers its legitimacy within the context of IP law, more generally, and some other areas of law, more specifically. |
| Author | Louw, A.M. |
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| References | Coleman, R 2011 2012 Louw, AM 2012 McGeveran, W 2008 Boyle, J 2008 Cohen, FS 1935 Wensink, P 2012 Bollier, D 2005 Manta, ID 2012 Baird, S 2013 Beebe, B 2004 Huynh, MK 2011 Vaver, D 2001 Gallagher, WT 2012 Meurer, MJ 2003 McGeveran, W 2010 Masnick, M 2011 Edgar, D 2007 Pelton, E 2012 Boldrin, M; Levine, DK 2008 Boudett, M; Kluft, D; Rufo, A 2012 Lange, D 1981 Grinvald, LC 2011 Newsom, RL 2011 Moerdyk, C 2012 Vinjamuri, D 2012 Walters, RA 2012 Goldman, E 2011 Port, KP 2008 Spalding, S 2010 |
| References_xml | – year: 2012 publication-title: Ambush Marketing and the Mega-Event Monopoly: How Laws are Abused to Protect Commercial Rights to Major Sporting Events contributor: fullname: Louw, AM – year: 2012 publication-title: How Tiny SodaStream Baited Coca Cola - and Won contributor: fullname: Vinjamuri, D – year: 2011 publication-title: Let the Trademark "Bully" Be! works. contributor: fullname: Huynh, MK – start-page: 453 year: 2012 end-page: 497 article-title: "Trademark and Copyright Enforcement in the Shadow of IP Law" publication-title: Santa CLara Computer & High Tech LJ contributor: fullname: Gallagher, WT – year: 2010 publication-title: Bros Icing Bros - A Case for Copyright Bullying by Overreaching Smirnoff Lawyers contributor: fullname: Spalding, S – start-page: 621 year: 2004 end-page: 705 article-title: "The semiotic analysis of trademark law" publication-title: UCLA Law Review contributor: fullname: Beebe, B – start-page: 147 year: 1981 end-page: 178 article-title: "Recognising the Public Domain" publication-title: LCP contributor: fullname: Lange, D – year: 2012 publication-title: Letter imgur.com/a/U7E66 – year: 2011 publication-title: Department of Commerce Releases Worthless Report on Trademark Bullying contributor: fullname: Goldman, E – year: 2011 publication-title: Commerce Department Releases Useless, Biased Report On Trademark Bullying contributor: fullname: Masnick, M – year: 2012 publication-title: Broken Piano for President contributor: fullname: Wensink, P – year: 2008 publication-title: The Public Domain: Enclosing the Commons of the Mind contributor: fullname: Boyle, J – year: 2013 publication-title: Minnesota to Own "Trademark Bullies" contributor: fullname: Baird, S – year: 2008 publication-title: Against Intellectual Monopoly contributor: fullname: Boldrin, M; Levine, DK – year: 2012 publication-title: Coca-Cola Cry-baby contributor: fullname: Moerdyk, C – start-page: 625 year: 2011 end-page: 689 article-title: "Shaming Trademark Bullies" publication-title: Wis L Rev contributor: fullname: Grinvald, LC – publication-title: RIX 2007 Masterclass - Self Publishing (Olympic Mind Games) by Robert Ronsson – publication-title: Skildum-Reid K 2010 How the World Cup Ambushed Itself – start-page: 2267 year: 2010 end-page: 2322 article-title: "The Trademark Fair Use Reform Act" publication-title: BULL Rev contributor: fullname: McGeveran, W – start-page: 585 year: 2008 end-page: 635 article-title: Trademark Extortion: The End of Trademark Law" publication-title: Wash & Lee L Rev contributor: fullname: Port, KP – year: 2012 publication-title: A Formula for Measuring Trademark Bullies contributor: fullname: Pelton, E – year: 2007 publication-title: You Can't Use the "O-word" contributor: fullname: Edgar, D – start-page: 809 year: 1935 end-page: 849 article-title: "Transcendental Nonsense and the Functional Approach" publication-title: Colum L Rev contributor: fullname: Cohen, FS – start-page: 509 year: 2003 end-page: 544 article-title: "Controlling Opportunistic and Anti-competitive Intellectual Property Litigation" publication-title: BCL Rev contributor: fullname: Meurer, MJ – year: 2005 publication-title: Brand Name Bullies: The Quest to Own and Control Culture contributor: fullname: Bollier, D – start-page: 1833 year: 2011 end-page: 1869 article-title: "Cease and Desist: Finding an Equitable Solution in Trademark Disputes Between High Schools and Colleges" publication-title: BCL Rev contributor: fullname: Newsom, RL – start-page: 46 issue: Jul/Aug year: 2012 end-page: 47 article-title: "Choosing the Right Battles" publication-title: Intellectual Property Magazine contributor: fullname: Walters, RA – start-page: 48 issue: Sep year: 2012 end-page: 51 article-title: "Don't become a trademark bully" publication-title: Managing Intellectual Property contributor: fullname: Boudett, M; Kluft, D; Rufo, A – publication-title: Chilling Effects Clearinghouse Date Unknown Home Page – start-page: 1205 year: 2008 end-page: 1227 article-title: "Four Free Speech Goals for Trademark Law" publication-title: Fordham Intel Prop Media & Ent LJ contributor: fullname: McGeveran, W – start-page: 10 issue: Jan year: 2011 end-page: 11 article-title: "Bully for Who?" publication-title: Intellectual Property Magazine contributor: fullname: Coleman, R – start-page: 853 year: 2012 end-page: 871 article-title: "Bearing Down on Trademark Bullies" publication-title: Fordham Intel Prop Media & Ent LJ contributor: fullname: Manta, ID – year: 2001 publication-title: Intellectual Property: The State of the Art contributor: fullname: Vaver, D |
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| Title | What intellectual property lawyers can learn from Barbra Streisand, Sepp Blatter, and the "Coca-Cola cry-baby" : dealing with "trademark bullying" in South Africa |
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