New developments on anti-free speech trademark revision bill

[David Farber <dave () farber net>]

Begin forwarded message:

From: Paul Levy <plevy () citizen org>
Date: September 15, 2005 2:55:44 PM EDT
To: dave () farber net
Subject: New developments on anti-free speech trademark revision bill


I recently learned that the Association of the Bar of the City of New  
York ("ABCNY"), a highly respected bar group whose members belong to  
some of New York's biggest private law firms, has joined Public  
Citizen, the ACLU, EFF and Public Knowledge in opposing the present  
form of HR 683.  That bill would amend section 43(c) of the Lanham  
Act in ways that wuold drastically increase the exposure of consumers  
and small businesses to litigation from large national corporations  
for violating their trademarks based on purely npon-commercial  
commentary.  The ABCNY conducted a detailed study of the provisions  
of the proposed legislation and issued a report last spring, but  
apparently they refrained from disseminating the report because they  
had no idea that other groups were also opposed.

So, although proponents of the change have portrayed the trademark  
bar as being united in favor of the bill, that claim is highly  
misleading.

The ABCNY's study, and their proposed changes in HR 683, can be found  
on the ABCNY web site at http://www.abcny.org/pdf/report/ 
nyc1-560488-6.pdf


Paul Alan Levy
Public Citizen Litigation Group
1600 - 20th Street, N.W.
Washington, D.C. 20009
(202) 588-1000
http://www.citizen.org/litigation



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