Recent Developments in U.S. Trademark Law: A Confusing State of Affairs

Jeffrey M. Samuels, University of Akron School of Law
Linda B. Samuels

Abstract

The federal courts issued a number of important trademark law decisions this past year revealing conflict and division with respect to a number of doctrines, including initial interest confusion, nominative fair use, and protection for “famous marks.” Several of the decisions involved issues of “first impression.”