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Avoiding False-Marking Claims with Global Brands
For about a week last month, my Internet browser thought I was in Canada. And, like a friend who returns with an accent after a week-long vacation in London, this was more a source of curiosity than frustration. I first realized the quirk upon a visit to Google. Instead of finding myself at the familiar .com, I was redirected to a .ca site. Upon entering my query ' “donuts” ' Canadian Google thought I'd be most interested in visiting Tim Hortons. Eh? Unfamiliar, I scanned the Tim Hortons website to learn the tale of a small Ontario donut shop that quickly spread throughout Canada and much of the Northern United States. With 's and 's littered across the page, the intellectual property nerd in me was buzzing. How was I to interpret these symbols?
Generally, the purpose of a trademark notice symbol is to notify the public that the words or designs they accompany should be interpreted as identifiers of the source of particular goods or services. More specifically, the ' signals that a mark is registered, and the ' (or its service mark counterpart, SM) signals a more general ( e.g. , common law) claim to a mark. In an infringement suit, a successful plaintiff may only recover lost profits if the plaintiff can show that the infringer had actual notice of the existence of a prior trademark registration, and is typically only rewarded an injunction. However, a trademark registrant who consistently posts the ' alongside the relevant mark is deemed to have provided constructive notice of registration, and is therefore relieved of the burden of having to establish actual notice. This effectively increases the damages available to registrants in an infringement suit. On the other side of the coin, false marking ' i.e. , improperly using the ' to signal that an unregistered mark is registered ' is tantamount to fraud and can open the “false marker” up to civil, and sometimes even criminal, liabilities. For example, in Japan, false marking can be penalized with up to three years' imprisonment. While often not enforced, false marking is to be avoided. Thus, properly marking trademarks is fundamental to smart trademark practice, as it not only increases the potential damages available in the event of infringement, but it also prevents liabilities for false marking.
The DOJ's Corporate Enforcement Policy: One Year Later
The DOJ's Criminal Division issued three declinations since the issuance of the revised CEP a year ago. Review of these cases gives insight into DOJ's implementation of the new policy in practice.
Use of Deferred Prosecution Agreements In White Collar Investigations
This article discusses the practical and policy reasons for the use of DPAs and NPAs in white-collar criminal investigations, and considers the NDAA's new reporting provision and its relationship with other efforts to enhance transparency in DOJ decision-making.
How AI Has Affected PR
When we consider how the use of AI affects legal PR and communications, we have to look at it as an industrywide global phenomenon. A recent online conference provided an overview of the latest AI trends in public relations, and specifically, the impact of AI on communications. Here are some of the key points and takeaways from several of the speakers, who provided current best practices, tips, concerns and case studies.
The DOJ's New Parameters for Evaluating Corporate Compliance Programs
The parameters set forth in the DOJ's memorandum have implications not only for the government's evaluation of compliance programs in the context of criminal charging decisions, but also for how defense counsel structure their conference-room advocacy seeking declinations or lesser sanctions in both criminal and civil investigations.