Jones Day abuse of trademark law

[David Farber <dave () farber net>]

Begin forwarded message:

From: "Paul Levy" <plevy () citizen org>
Date: September 24, 2008 1:16:58 PM EDT
To: <dave () farber net>
Subject: Jones Day abuse of trademark law

Last week you forwarded a statement about an amicus curiae brief  
jointly authored prepared by Corynne McSherry of EFF and myself for  
Public Citizen, and joined as well by Public Knowledge and Citizen  
Media Law Project, that supported dismissal of a lawsuit brought by  
Jones Day about claiming that its trademark is infringed and diluted  
by mention of its name in headlines of articles on the BlockShopper  
web site, www.blockshopper.com, and by links to the Jones Day web site.

There are, apparently. some arguments in that brief that Jones Day is  
desperate to keep away from the judge - or, at least, to avoid having  
to answer - because Jones Day has taken the remarkable step of  
opposing the motion for leave to file the brief.  It argues that the  
brief should not be accepted on the one hand because it duplicates  
arguments made by BlockShopper, and on the other because it makes an  
argument that BlockShopper does not make; because the amicus brief is  
“partisan” in that it takes one side in the case instead of being  
neutral; and because I personally blogged about the case in terms that  
Jones Day does not like.  At bottom, Jones Day’s view rests on the  
notion that amicus briefs should rarely be allowed.  Both Jones Day’s  
opposition and our response, as well as the original amicus brief, can  
be found here.  http://www.citizen.org/litigation/briefs/IntFreeSpch/cases/articles.cfm?ID=14270#jones


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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