Industry & Advocacy News
February 14, 2006
TRADEMARK BILL THREATENS FREE EXPRESSION
A bill that would drop express protection for “noncommercial use” of a trademark and would weaken the protections for those who use trademarks in news commentary will be considered by the Senate Judiciary Committee on Thursday. The legislation has already passed the House.
These changes in the law appear to be largely collateral damage in a bill intended to address the “dilution” provisions of trademark law. The bill, known as H.R. 683, the Trademark Dilution Revision Act, is otherwise unobjectionable from the perspective of an authors’ group.
ACTION TO TAKE
One of your senators (two, if you’re from Wisconsin), sits on the Judiciary Committee. We’d like you to contact that senator and urge him or her to make a small, important change to H.R. 683, revising section 43(c)(3) of the bill so that it reads “43(c)(3) EXCLUSIONS- The following shall not be actionable under this section:” and reinstating the existing noncommercial exclusion from liability by simply adding “43(c)(3)(D) Noncommercial use of a mark.”
Please contact your senator before Thursday, February 16. Contact information for Senate Judiciary Committee members is at the bottom of this e-mail.
WHAT’S AT STAKE
Trademarks, including business names, brands, and slogans, are unavoidable and proliferating in daily life. Writers of fiction and nonfiction inevitably incorporate trademarks into their work, sometimes to comment on the particular business using the trademark, but frequently the use is merely incidental to the nonfiction or fiction writer’s story (“Tom went to a McDonald’s, had a Coke, and waited for the Harley to arrive.”).
Just as fair use provisions of copyright law permit writers to make certain uses of copyrighted works in their own works, so do fair use and related provisions of trademark law permit writers to use trademarks in their works. One of the important protections for writers using others’ trademarks is section 43(c)(4)(B) of the Lanham Act, which excludes noncommercial and news reporting uses from several types of liability under trademark law. The new law would weaken these protections, exposing writers to greater potential liability for their use of trademarks.
This would needlessly chill expression. The legitimate changes to the dilution provisions of trademark law can be made without changing the exclusions from liability contained in the current law.
COPY US
If you contact your representative, please let us know. Simply e-mail us at staff@authorsguild.org
SENATE MEMBERS OF THE COMMITTEE ON THE JUDICIARY AND THEIR CONTACT INFORMATION
Arlen Specter, R-PA Web Form: http://specter.senate.gov/index.cfm?FuseAction=ContactInfo.Home Phone: (202) 224-4254
Orrin G. Hatch, R-UT Web Form: http://hatch.senate.gov/index.cfm?Fuseaction=Offices.Contact Phone: (202) 224-5251
Patrick J. Leahy, D-VT Email: senator_leahy@leahy.senate.gov Phone: (202) 224-4242
Charles E. Grassley, R-IA Web Form: http://grassley.senate.gov/webform.htm Phone: (202) 224-3744
Edward M. Kennedy, D-MA Web Form: http://kennedy.senate.gov/contact.html Phone: (202) 224-4543
Jon Kyl R-AZ Web Form: http://kyl.senate.gov/contact.cfm Phone: (202) 224-4521
Joseph R. Biden, Jr., D-DE Web Form: http://biden.senate.gov/contact/emailjoe.cfm Phone: (202) 224-5042
Mike DeWine R-OH Web Form: http://dewine.senate.gov/ Phone: (202) 224-2315
Herbert Kohl. D-WI Web Form: http://kohl.senate.gov/gen_contact.html Phone: (202) 224-5653
Jeff Sessions, R-AL Web Form: http://sessions.senate.gov/email/contact.cfm Phone: (202) 224-4124
Dianne Feinstein, D-CA Web Form: http://feinstein.senate.gov/email.html Phone: (202) 224-6521
Lindsey Graham, R-SC Web Form: http://lgraham.senate.gov/index.cfm?mode=contactform Phone: (202) 224-5972
Russell D. Feingold, D-WI Email: russ_feingold@feingold.senate.gov Phone: (202) 224-5323
John Cornyn, R-TX Web Form: http://cornyn.senate.gov/index.asp?f=contact&lid=1#contact Phone: (202) 224-2934
Charles E. Schumer, D-NY Web Form: http://schumer.senate.gov/SchumerWebsite/contact/webform.cfm Phone: (202) 224-6542
Sam Brownback, R-KS Web Form: brownback.senate.gov/CMEmailMe.cfm Phone: (202) 224-6521
Richard J. Durbin, D-IL Web Form: http://durbin.senate.gov/contact.cfm#contact Phone: (202) 224-2152
Tom Coburn, R-OK Web Form: http://coburn.senate.gov/index.cfm?FuseAction=Contact.Home Phone: (202) 224-5754