Apparently, Alfred Hitchcock said that “puns are the highest form of literature.” I couldn’t agree more. The internet is plastered with a wide ranging amount of puns on your favorite merchandise. In fact, many artists make a living by designing works that incorporate some of the best puns. Those artists and creators should take note of a recent ruling out of the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals (Alaska, Arizona, California, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, Oregon, and Washington) that limits a trademark owner’s rights to their registered, punny trademark.
Read MoreContributory trademark infringement is a legal theory that a person/entity can be held responsible for infringement of a trademark, even though they were not the ones who actually infringed on the mark. In terms of e-commerce, we are looking at the platform being held liable for allowing, inducing, or maybe even knowing that trademark infringement was occurring on their site.
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