At the Sex, Drugs, Motorcycle Clubs: Trademark Issues on the Edge Professor Luncheon, academics talked about the problems of helping clients in the adult content industry and the legal marijuana trade to protect their IP rights.
Shabnam Malek of Cobalt explained the regulatory barriers that affect her clients’ abilities to trademark the names of their marijuana products in those states in the United States that now allow the sale of cannabis-related goods. “You can imagine how terrible this is from a branding perspective,” she said.
Todd Alberstone of Alberstone Consulting outlined the problems suffered by what he described as legitimate/established adult content brands in an online marketplace crowded with get-rich-quick businesses. “In the past brands such as PLAYBOY, PENTHOUSE and HUSTLER had very clear identities and associations. Now the adult content market is very different.”
He went on to discuss the problems that adult content companies have when they extend their brands into the retail market, such as selling sex toys. “There is an inherent conflict between the brand names used to drive search engine traffic and those that are acceptable to the USPTO. Terms that are descriptive or suggestive will cause problems,” he said.
The panel was hosted by David Bell of Haynes & Boone. The vice-chair of the Academic Committee, Megan Carpenter of Texas A&M School of Law, said that the session was designed to examine the issues that push the boundaries of trademark law.
The Academic Committee has 65 members. Among other things its members organize the Academic Course on International Trademark Law and a Career Development Day for law students at the Annual Meeting, as well as hosting the Professor Luncheon for IP deans and law professors. This year they also launched the (Dis)Order in the Court debate featuring practitioners and professors debating topical law issues.
