Grace McLaughlin on Nonsense Marks

In this episode, Grace McLaughlin, a recent graduate of Harvard Law School, discusses her note "Fanciful Failures: Keeping Nonsense Marks off the Trademark Register," which is published in the Harvard Law Review. McLaughlin begins by explaining what "nonsense marks" are and why some companies register them. She observes that nonsense marks frustrate the expectations of trademark doctrine, primarily because they linguistically fail to function as marks. She explains how trademark examiners should identify nonsense marks, and differentiate them from merely weak marks. And she reflects on what nonsense marks can teach us about the application of trademark doctrine. McLaughlin is on Twitter at @graceyphus.This episode was hosted by Brian L. Frye, Spears-Gilbert Professor of Law at the University of Kentucky College of Law. Frye is on Twitter at @brianlfrye. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Om Podcasten

Ipse Dixit is a podcast on legal scholarship. Each episode of Ipse Dixit features a different guest discussing their scholarship. The podcast also features several special series."From the Archives" consists historical recordings potentially of interest to legal scholars and lawyers."The Homicide Squad" consists of investigations of the true stories behind different murder ballads, as well as examples of how different musicians have interpreted the song over time."The Day Antitrust Died?" is co-hosted with Ramsi Woodcock, Assistant Professor of Law at the University of Kentucky College of Law, and consists of oral histories of the 1974 Airlie House Conference on antitrust law, a pivotal moment in the history of antitrust theory and policy.The hosts of Ipse Dixit are:Brian L. Frye, Spears-Gilbert Associate Professor of Law at the University of Kentucky College of LawLuce Nguyen, a student at Oberlin College and the co-founder of the Oberlin Policy Research Institute, an undergraduate public policy organization based at Oberlin CollegeMaybell Romero, Assistant Professor of Law at Northern Illinois University College of LawAntonia Eliason, Assistant Professor of Law at the University of Mississippi School of LawSaurabh Vishnubhakat, Associate Professor of Law at Texas A&M School of LawJohn Culhane, Professor of Law at Widener University Delaware Law SchoolBenjamin Edwards, Associate Professor of Law at the UNLV William S. Boyd School of LawMatthew Bruckner, Associate Professor of Law at Howard University School of LawComments and suggestions are always welcome at brianlfrye@gmail.com. You can follow the Ipse Dixit on Twitter at @IpseDixitPod. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.