Bit Parts

The U.S. Court of Appeal for the Seventh Circuit affirmed a district ruling that the references to a fictional “clean slate” hacking software in the 2012 Batman film The Dark Knight Rises weren't likely to confuse consumers as to the trademark for the plaintiff's security management software “Clean Slate.” Fortres Grand Corp. v. Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc., 13-2337. The District Court for the Northern District of Indiana had noted in its ruling “that it's somewhat surprising that this is a relatively uncharted territory of trademark law.” The Seventh Circuit observed: “There is little authority on how to treat the 'similarity of the products' factor when one of them is fictional, ' but what few cases have confronted the issue have considered the likelihood of confusion between the senior user's product [ i.e. , in this case Fortres Grande] and the junior user's creative work [i.e., the movie itself as a product] ' not any fictional product therein.” The appeals court then found it unlikely “that a super-hero movie and desktop management software are 'goods related in the minds of consumers in the sense that a single producer is likely to put out both goods.'” The Seventh Circuit decided the case without also determining whether Warner Bros had a viable First Amendment defense.

Excessive Management Term, Commission Make Any Debts Artist Might Owe Manager Dischargeable Through Bankruptcy