Re: Trademark.tmk and famous marks

["Martin B. Schwimmer" <martys@interport.net>]

At 10:57 PM 8/18/98 -0400, you wrote:
>A minor quibble:
>
>Bill Lovell wrote:
>
>> gain, "famous marks," like the rest of trademark law, have been around
>> a lot longer than TLDs, and thus it is the TLDs and the rest of the
>> internet
>> that have to cope with those existing laws, whatever they may be. 
>
>Domain names, icluding TLDs,  have been around since the
>eighties.  The US statute that accorded protection to famous
>marks dates back two years only.  Are you suggesting that US
>common law or the law of any other jurisdiction supported
>the cocept of famous marks for over 15 years?
>
YThe Paris Convention was signed in 1883.  I can't find an earlier draft of
the Paris COnvention other than the 1925, which had the clause protecting
well-known marks.   The U.S. joined the treaty  in 1887.  The two year old
law you refer to is the Federal Anti-Dilution law which adds a federal
cause of dilution (as opposed to infringement) to state anti-dilution laws
which have been in place for decades.  


So famous marks have received additional legal protection internationally
and abroad since at least 1925 and possibly as early as 1887.



>
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>Dan Steinberg
>
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