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Predictive Analytics & the Tax Code
No full textCongress last reformed the nation’s current tax penalty regime ap-proximately three decades ago, long before the rise of big data and the advent of predictive analytics. With predictive analytics now gaining preeminence and its accuracy constantly improving, it is time for Congress to weave this technological innovation into the fabric of the Internal Revenue Code and, more specifically, the civil tax penalty regime. Doing so would enhance taxpayer compliance, augment transparency, and simultaneously ease many administrative burdens commonplace under the tax law
Sound Marks
No full textA lion roars just before a film rolls. A doughboy giggles. A giant green man laughs a hearty, Ho, Ho, Ho. These iconic sounds are all federally registered as trademarks. They identify specific brands and distinguish their products and services from the competition. Human brains treat sounds like these as categorization tools and cognitive shortcuts—ideal trademark symbols. But what about the sounds your favorite toys or electronic devices make? Or those made by a fictional character in the latest blockbuster?
This Article tackles these issues and others. We push back against the widely-held belief that all unconventional trademarks—product designs, colors, scents, flavors, and sounds—are conceptually similar and collectively less likely to receive trademark protection.
First, we review scientific literature on how humans process sound. Next, we explain how trademark law sorts sounds compared to other unconventional symbols in determining whether they may be protected as trademarks. Third, we empirically analyze the prosecution of sound marks before the United States Patent and Trademark Office over the past four decades, showing how different categories of sound mark applications fared in the federal registration process.
Contrary to the common assumption that all unconventional marks face similar barriers to publication and registration, sound mark applications are much more likely to be successful than those for other unconventional marks—approaching the success rates for word mark applications. At the same time, sound marks are not a homogeneous category. They are a large, varied set. Sometimes categories of sound marks succeed with the high frequency typical of word marks, but others must overcome the more exacting standards of product design trade dress. After exploring reasons for this difference and other dynamics revealed in our empirical research, we conclude with recommendations for scholars, practitioners, and policymakers interested in the untapped power of sound marks
