Whole Buncha Stuff

What, with vacation and an office move, I've been a little behind on new developments. To catch up, here's the TV Guide version of some recent decisions this month.

Counterfeiting. In a case I initially missed because it was a criminal case -- not a civil suit -- the 10th Circuit held in United States v. Foote, No. 03-3263 (July 6, 2005), that the criminal counterfeiting definition, 18 USC § 2320(e)(1), which, like its civil counterpart, 15 USC § 1114(1)(b), requires a likelihood of confusion, covers post-sale confusion. The case concerned a defendant who sold "replicas" of prestigious branded items to customers who, it was assumed, knew full well that the items were fakes.

8th Circuit Gives Cold Shoulder to Weak Ice Cream Mark. "Frosty Treats" is a company that operates a fleet of vans that cruise residential neighborhoods and sell frozen goodies. Problem is, the FROSTY TREATS brand doesn't appear prominently on the trucks. It appears on a sign no larger than the myriad of other stickers festooning the truck displaying the "frosty treats" within. Oh, that reminds me, the mark is also highly descriptive. So when the mark appeared on an evil ice cream truck in a Sony video game, Frosty Treats was ill-prepared to defend its rights. The 8th Circuit held, in Frosty Treats, Inc. v. Sony Computer Entertainment America, Inc., No. 04-2502 (July 25, 2005), that the FROSTY TREATS mark was descriptive and that the plaintiff failed to prove up secondary meaning. Oh yeah, and there was no likelihood of confusion, either. In so doing, the 8th Circuit also trashed the plaintiff's shoddy survey. NOTE: To access the decision after linking, click on Opinions by Month/Year, select July 2005, and scroll until you come to it.

10th Circuit Requires Copyright Office to Issue Registration Before Suit Can Be Filed. In La Resolana Architects, PA v. Clay Realtors Angel Fire, No. 04-2127, (July 26, 2005), the Tenth Circuit, in a detailed opinion, held that "[t]he Copyright Office must approve or reject the application before registration occurs or a copyright infringement action can be brought." In taking this approach, the 10th Circuit broke with the 5th Circuit's rule, which is that it is enough to have filed the application, together submitting the proper specimen and fee. Although the 10th thought it was the second circuit to have taken the "registration required" approach, I believe that it's actually the third circuit to have done so explicitly, since the 10th Circuit overlooked at least the 9th Circuit cases requiring registration. See, e.g., S.O.S., Inc. v. Payday, Inc., 886 F.2d 1081 (9th Cir. 1989); Kodadek v. MTV Networks, Inc., 152 F.3d 1209 (9th Cir. 1998). (There may be other circuits too, but I've researched the 9th Circuit's approach before and know of those 2 cases.)

11th Circuit Sinks Vessel Hull Infringement Complaint. In a straightforward (but rare) suit under the Vessel Hull Design Protection Act, 17 USC § 1301 et seq., the 11th Circuit held in Maverick Boat Company, Inc. v. American Marine Holdings. Inc., No. 04-11259 (July 27, 2005), that the Act means what it says when it provides that only a "substantial" change to an existing design can qualify for protection under the Act.