Make Me Walk, Make Me Talk, Do Whatever You Please: Barbie and Exceptions, Rebecca Tushnet

Rebecca Tushnet had some interesting things to say at IPSC today about the multiple meanings of BarbieĀ®. She makes an excellent point that trademark defenses will only be accessible to people without lawyers (i.e., most people) if they are based on balancing tests or a rule of reason analysis (like copyright fair use) and the current maze of factors, hurdles and hierarchies. See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barbie#Parodies_and_lawsuits for a summary of several Barbie related copyright and trademark controversies.