Patently-O Bits and Bytes No. 74

• Our thoughts and prayers go out to Peter Zura of the great 271 Patent Blog. Peter is now officially cancer free.
• Professor Doug Lichtman is offering free CLE Credit. Listen online: www.ipcolloquium.com
• DMCA is 10 years old. [EFF] [News]
• The US Government has Seized the Mongol's trademark and is now "seiz[ing] all products, clothing, vehicles, motorcycles … or other materials bearing the Mongols trademark" [Randazza] I don't know what they will do with this guy's head…

Via Kelly Talcott: $125 Million is a Lot to Pay for Fair Use

Comments

[Kelly Talcott]

Will the police officers who see someone sporting a jacket bearing the word MONGOL be forced to ascertain whether the wearer is "promoting the interests of persons interested in the recreation of riding motorcycles" (from the TM registration) versus "promoting the interests of Mongolians" before seizing the offending garment?

[anon1]

Speaking of CLE, does anyone know if there are any CLE classes on pointers, etc. on drafting winning appeal briefs in view of the new BPAI rules going into force in December?

[Malcolm Mooney]

"Our thoughts and prayers go out to Peter Zura of the great 271 Patent Blog. Peter is now officially cancer free."

Indeed, that is great news.

[patent.drafter]

I expect to be running such a CLE at our firm. I would have to check with one of the partners whether the event would be open to outside practitioners.

[Brian L.]

The www.ipcolloquium.com link needs to be changed so that it doesn't have a period directly after ".com"

[big hairy rat]

The claims being made against the "Mongol" trademark where they are claiming the right to seize lawfully licenced merchandise off a consumers back after retail sale (possibly years after a legal retail sale) is simply another example of the out of control legal system.

[M. Slonecker]

There appears to be a disconnect between the DOJ and longstanding caselaw concerning trademarks and service marks. The DOJ has apparently convinced a judge to treat a service mark as an asset, and yet caselaw reflects precisely the opposite view by repeatedly declaring that marks may not be transferred in gross.

[M. Slonecker]

I should likewise note that the order appears defective in many ways, but perhaps the most notable is its overinclusiveness such that First Amendment rights are clearly impacted.

[AllSeeingEye]

I guess the anti-racketeering siezure provisions have some teeth. However, it definitely seems out of control in view of the fact that only a small percentage of members were allegedly involved in criminal activity. The burden on the government for permitting siezure, I thought, was establishing a prima facie case that the asset was directly involved in or the fruits of illegal activity.

First its the jacket off your back, then its your firearms.

[Alun Palmer]

Speaking as a former biker I think that 'patch motorcycle clubs' (their own term) differ greatly from any other organisations that RICO was written to cover, in that they are not primarily criminal, believe it or not.

In some respects seizing their aspects for crime is a little like seizing the assets of the YMCA (as a random fictional example) because some members were involved in a criminal conspiracy, only not so many people are outraged when it's a club of bikers as they would be if it were some more respectable organisation.

They are primarily social clubs that just don't happen to have a particularly law-abiding membership. If you exclude traffic offences and illegal drug use, a lot of the members in these sort of clubs have never committed any other offence.

If you doubt this, I refer you to the book "Hell's Angels" by Hunter S. Thompson. Of course, not everything he describes in there is sweetness and light! I have also personally met a number of Hell's Angels, and I believe what he wrote.

Well, that's blown my credibility as a pillar of the community, LOL!

[John Roethel]

When will the DOJ go after the Washington Redskin paraphernalia? Wasn't their federal registration cancelled? And what they charge for football tickets is criminal.

And speaking of RICO, shouldn't the Atlanta Braves stuff be seized? After all, Rico Carty won a batting championship while playing for Atlanta.