Feature
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SAG's Strange Voyage
By Jonathan Handel
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Where did the Screen Actors Guild go? After months of news-a near daily barrage covered diligently by various journalists and citizen-journalists, including this author (at jhandel.com)-the guild fell off the radar screen. It was as though 5757 Wilshire, SAG's national headquarters, somehow disappeared into the black hole that features so prominently in (spoiler alert) the latest "Star Trek" movie.
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Message from the President
By Scott Vick
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History has taught us an important lesson about the rule of law. Generally speaking, countries that have an effective rule of law for resolving civil disputes prosper. Although there may be exceptions to the general rule, countries deprived of the rule of law in civil disputes and infected with systemic corruption normally do not prosper. I am not suggesting that having a "rule of law" will necessarily lead to economic prosperity (certainly we have our hands full in the US with respect to the current economic crisis), but an effective "rule of law" is an essential element to prosperity and a sense of justice within a country.
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Truth or Consequences: The Dangers of Fraud in Trademark Prosecution
By Steven M. Weinberg and Alexis N. Mueller
Cowan, DeBaets, Abrahams & Sheppard LLP
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Federal trademark registrations can be very powerful tools for preventing brand confusion and unfair competition. The loss of a registration, therefore, can be a significant hindrance in the enforcement of rights in one's protected brand. There was a time when the United States Patent and Trademark Office ("USPTO") rarely addressed charges that there had been fraud in the prosecution of a trademark registration. No longer. Not only has the USPTO recently grown more aggressive in its treatment of fraudulent statements made in trademark filings, but recent cases indicate that the repercussions for fraudulent misrepresentation to the USPTO are becoming increasingly severe. Although the USPTO does not have jurisdiction to award money damages, the USPTO, through its internal administrative court the Trademark Trial and Appeals Board (the "TTAB" or "Board") will strike portions of an application or registration, or the application or registration in its entirety when fraud is found, even if the misstatement was made inadvertently. A finding of fraud also may now be justification for precluding civil enforcement of the mark covered by the application or registration.
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Century City After Hours
By Edward T. Swanson
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Other Memorable Concerts
(Especially Vanessa And The Suits)
In my last column, I reminisced about my three most memorable rock concerts. Due to perceived conflicts of interest, of course, I did not mention any of the performances by the incomparable, and now-extinct, Vanessa and the Suits. Due in part to the great clamoring for their mention, and with my memory slowly but surely recalling other memorable concerts I attended, it seemed only appropriate to do the "Hollywood thing" - make a sequel! And so, without further ado, here we go down my memory lane yet again….
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