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A Tale of Two Pioneers: Trademarking a Tattoo, 18 J. Marshall Rev. Intell. Prop. L. 400 (2019)
Get PDFThis is a short article written in a creative style that narrates the story of the first tattoo that was federally registered as a trademark
A New Home for Haters - Online Home Sharing Platforms: A Look at the Applicability of the Fair Housing Act to Home Shares, 53 U. Rich. L. Rev. 903 (2019)
No full textIn 2018, we celebrated the fiftieth anniversary of the Fair Housing Act which outlawed discrimination in residential transactions. When the FHA was passed, the home search process was very different. Fifty years ago, most people searched for housing by viewing listings in newspapers and other printed publications or perhaps used a realtor. Today, most people use the internet to search for housing. Home sharing, where all or part of a home is rented on a short-term basis, has become very popular since 2008 when Airbnb entered the market. It has become a multimillion-dollar business and proponents see great potential in it to ease housing and income shortages. As home sharing has grown in popularity, racism has reared its ugly head and reports of discrimination against minority guests have become all too frequent. Complaints of housing providers refusing to rent based on the race, sexual orientation, religion, or other protected characteristics of prospective guests have gained widespread attention through social media and threaten to undermine the future of the concept
Reexamining the Concept of Citizenship in Today’s World, 52 UIC J. Marshall L. Rev. 357 (2019)
Get PDFLouboutin Heels and the Competition Goals of EU Trade Mark Law, 19 UIC Rev. Intell. Prop. L. 38 (2019)
Get PDFThis article critically examines the judicial applications of the EU functionality doctrine and argues that recent CJEU decisions are at odds with the EU legislator’s declared intention to give functionality a much greater role in promoting product market competition. As a statutory ground for refusing registration even in the presence of consumer association and established goodwill, EU functionality serves to avoid undue competitive advantages by refusing protection in support of freedom to compete. EU functionality represents a significant obstacle to registration for purely natural, technical and value adding signs representing the shape of the goods. As of 2015, the wording now includes not only the shape but also another product “characteristic” such as colour, sounds, scents, texture, etc. Thus, these tripartite criteria underpinning EU functionality are likely to affect the registration of unconventional marks or product trade dress brands. This article undertakes a deeper examination into each of these non-functionality criteria, highlighting problematic interpretations and suggesting ways to improve existing practice. Unlike existing narratives, this article places the competition goals of EU trade mark law at the centre of the debate and within a much broader context beyond functional signs exclusions, which also includes the general eligibility conditions and nondistinctiveness requirements
