CEU Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2021
| Author | Suleymanov, Ismayil |
|---|---|
| Title | Trademarks And Freedom of Expression in the United States: Brand Parody as a Form of Social Commentary and Shortcomings of the Trademark Dilution Revision Act of 2006 |
| Summary | In addition to ensuring that customers make the correct buy, Louis Vuitton's trademarked monogram, Starbuck's siren emblem, and Tommy Hilfiger's distinctively blue, red, and white color scheme advertise to others about the decisions customers have made. If things were not set up as they are, the present well-known brands would not be as popular. Brands let trademark owners address the public about the quality and source of items and enable them to communicate in a unified voice about their lifestyle or taste of luxury. In the light of branding's effect on society, the issues surrounding both brands and branding are something the public should be aware of. As a form of protest, some individuals refuse to wear branded clothing as a sign of rebellion, while others embrace this trend by making fun of it. Therefore, fundamental human rights, freedom of expression, and intellectual property rights have always been in tension in the different jurisdictions. Brand parody is the most common way of criticizing and making fun of commercial giants in the capitalistic world. This sort of expression faces barriers set up in trademark laws that are overly protective about the rights of mark holders. The First Amendment reads that: “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances." In this thesis, I have focused on the tension between freedom of speech in the form of brand parodies and trademark law and analyzed whether recent amendments to the trademark law (Trademark Dilution Revision Act of 2006) of the United States complies with the First Amendment. I have specifically chosen brand parodies rather than traditional forms of trademark parodies because of their commercial nature. Most parodies simply reproduce the essential characteristics of a given work, either referring to or making fun of it. Brand parodies are more effective. While both borrowing the trademark and the branding technique are used, the intention is to put us in a thoughtful mindset about the brand's impact on our social life. To understand a brand parody and realize its importance in the free marketplace of ideas, we should have an insight into parodies, trademarks, trademark parodies, historical evolution, and contemporary situation trademark law. Especially, since after enacting the new Trademark Dilution Revision Act of 2006, courts are still grappling with interpreting. This thesis follows three chapters. In the first chapter, I have explained parody and trademark, the First Amendment defense of the trademark parodies, and the importance of the brand parodies as a new version of the trademark parodies. In the second chapter, I have chronologically analyzed the evolution of the trademark law of the United States and the artistic expression defense granted to the trademark parodies. The third chapter is describing challenges which the courts are facing because of interpretational problems of the T.D.R.A. After consulting with many noted thorough and insightful legal analyses and opinions of the referenced legal scholars and case-law reviews of their on the matter, I provided suggestions on the potential changes to the existing Trademark Dilution Revision Act. Those suggestions seek to make it easier for courts to handle the increased load while safeguarding the free expression rights of the parodists. |
| Supervisor | Fernandez, Alvaro, de la Mora |
| Department | Legal Studies LLM |
| Full text | https://www.etd.ceu.edu/2021/suleymanov_ismayil.pdf |
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