Abstract: INTRODUCTION I. TRADEMARK LAW A. Implementation B. Theory II. THE CREATOR AND CREATIVITY A. The Mark's Creator B. Creativity's Role in Trademark Law CONCLUSION INTRODUCTION From her outre fashion--such as a dress of bubbles and a lobster headpiece (1)--to her music, is frequently touted as a creative force in contemporary pop culture. (2) Just who created her moniker, however, is the centerpiece of a 2010 lawsuit filed against her (which has since settled on confidential terms). (3) Her ex-boyfriend and music producer Rob Fusari sued her recover a percentage of her revenues, alleging a breach of contract pursuant which Fusari had helped craft some of the songs on her debut album and introduced her key music executives. (4) Particularly interesting is the tale Fusari tells in his complaint build his case. A significant part of his claim rests on the allegation that he created the Lady Gaga name. According Fusari, he crafted the name when he sent Stefani (Lady Gaga's birth name) (5) a text message from his cell phone containing the Queen song title, Radio Ga, which his phone's spell checking program changed Lady Gaga. (6) According Fusari, Germanotta loved it and 'Lady Gaga' was born. (7) sings a different tune. As she tells it, she came up with the name following Fusari's repeated singing her of Radio Ga as a joke, due some Queen-like harmonies in her recordings. (8) From the vantage point of trademark law, this dispute is fascinating. The disagreement centers on who originated Gaga's brand name: surely a bona fide trademark for her musical services, products, and the like. (9) Nonetheless, nowhere be found in Fusari's complaint or Gaga's subsequent counter-complaint is any claim that Fusari is the proper owner of the Lady Gaga trademark. (10) This Article situates this lawsuit in trademark law by exploring the role of creativity in trademark law. Trademark law--unlike patent and copyright law, its intellectual property cousins--is structured reward creators for producing particular content. (11) That is unsurprising because trademark law and theory--as described in Part I--is significantly different than that of patent and copyright. As the Supreme Court recently remarked, trademark law was not designed protect originality or creativity, while patent and copyright law were. (12) Nonetheless, as Part II analyzes, there are critical ways in which trademark law, like patent and copyright law, seeks encourage creative activity, even without directly rewarding marks' creators. This underappreciated current of incentive be creative courses through trademark law in ways that complement trademark law's basic purposes. At the same time, however, trademark law's drive reward creativity has also likely helped justify its expansion in ways unmoored from core trademark theory. I. TRADEMARK LAW As a springboard for analysis of the role of creativity in trademark law, this Part recounts fundamental aspects of trademark law, starting with its current implementation and followed by a discussion of the principles understood be animating the law. A. Implementation Words, symbols, logos, and sometimes a product's design or packaging may be protected under trademark law. (13) According the Lanham Act, these are protectable under federal law so long as they are used by a person in commerce in a distinctive way to identify and distinguish his or her goods ... from those manufactured or sold by others and indicate the source of the goods, even if that source is Moreover, state laws frequently protect trademarks as well, see, e.g., Joe Cole, Trademark Terms Under the Lanham Act and State Law, 19 J. CONTEMP. LEGAL ISSUES 70, 70-72 (2010), but I do discuss that avenue of protection herein. unknown. (14) Federal law similarly protects marks that designate services. …
Publication Year: 2011
Publication Date: 2011-09-01
Language: en
Type: article
Access and Citation
Cited By Count: 3
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