The Trademark Registrability of the Harley- Davidson Roar: A Multimedia Analysis
Michael B. Sapherstein Harley-Davidson’s most recent endeavor to secure trademark protection is not only its most unconventional, it is also arguably, the most unusual and provocative trademark application ever filed with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (PTO). On February 1, 1994, Harley filed a registration for a trademark, then already in use, with the following description: “THE MARK CONSISTS OF THE EXHAUST SOUND OF APPLICANT’S MOTORCYCLES, PRODUCED BY V-TWIN, COMMON CRANKPIN MOTORCYCLE ENGINES WHEN THE GOODS ARE IN USE.” Put simply, Harley was attempting to trademark the sound of its motorcycles; which, of course, begs the question, can a...
Itar-Tass Russian News Agency v. Russian Kurier: Federal District Court Applies the Berne Convention, United States and Russian Copyright Laws To Prevent Piracy in Mass Media
Maxim B. Voltchenko The United States is well known for its vigorous protection of intellectual property rights owned by American nationals as well as foreigners. Similarly, the United States expects other nations to observe intellectual property rights of American nationals. Not surprisingly, the United States makes determined effort to urge other countries, especially the countries with emerging economies, to join the international treaties in the area of intellectual property. Virtually as a result of the United States’ active policy regarding expansion of intellectual property rights protection in the international context, the two principal international documents in this area, the Berne...
Svyazinvest: A Failed Attempt at Creating a Big Contender
Steven M. Chernoff Russia’s attempts to introduce large-scale competition into the Russian telephone industry got off to an encouraging start in late 1995 when a public offering of shares in Svyazinvest, the holding company representing the government’s 51% stake in 85 of Russia’s 87 regional operating companies, attracted the bids of several foreign investors. But a promising set of negotiations with the Italian state telephone company ended in an imbroglio at the year’s end, turning imminent success into sudden, dismal failure. Ever since, Svyazinvest has been widely considered an unattractive investment, and the failed negotiations prompted concerns that Russia was...
Judicial Response: A Safe Harbor in the “Fair Use” Doctrine
Pamela R. O’Brien Despite the cries of some commentators that copyright law is dead (or at least that they wish it was), copyright law is fully capable of responding to the challenges posed by the new technologies of the digital revolution. Copyright law initially developed in response to the invention of the printing press, and has a long history of addressing changes in technology. Where Congress has not explicitly made provisions for the new technology, the courts have stretched statutory interpretation and common law doctrines to do so. The courts’ express goal in fitting existing copyright law to new technologies...
Systems-on-a-Chip: Intellectual Property and Licensing Issues
Fred M. Greguras There is an accelerating trend in the electronics industry toward implementing an entire electronic system on a single chip through the integration of multiple, reusable, virtual components including both digital and analog circuitry. These systems perform specific functions (i.e. digital signal processor graphics controllers) and are sometimes interchangeably referred to as intellectual property (“ip cores embedded” or “ip building blocks”). This trend toward such semiconductor systems has important licensing implications. Because of widely adopted industry standards, standardized physical components can be rapidly and easily mixed on a printed circuit board (“PCB”) to create an electronic system of...
Not Quite Cryptus Horribilis: 1997’s Developments in the Encryption Debate Have Pushed Sides Further Apart
Adam White Scoville In late 1997, at least six bills or amendments on the use of encryption were either introduced or circulated in draft form. Seven congressional committees considered encryption legislation. A clear trend is emerging from these developments. Law enforcement and national security interests favoring restrictions on encryption are quickly growing further apart from civil liberties groups and computer and telecommunications industry associations favoring liberalization of encryption rules. The rifts have grown wide enough to induce at least one interested group to predict that no satisfactory compromise could imminently be possible and to cease advocating the passage of encryption...