Rebecca Tushnet had some interesting things to say at IPSC today about the multiple meanings of Barbie®. 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.
Intellectual Property Scholars Conference
I will be presenting my paper on copyright and the digital humanities, “Orphan Works as Grist for the Data Mill” at this years Intellectual Property Scholars Conference at Stanford Law School on Friday August 10, 2012.