Post-Sale Confusion Confusion
posted by Gerard Magliocca
So Deven and I have started working on a paper about 3D printers–the first CoOp joint venture in a law review context, unless I’m mistaken. Thus, you may see posts here in the coming months about that project.
One problem that may be exposed by the growing use of 3D printing is the flawed doctrine of post-sale consumer confusion in trademark law. Outside of blatant counterfeiting, what is post-sale confusion? It goes something like this:
1. I see a product owned or used by someone else that looks substantially similar to trade dress that has secondary meaning.
2. I further observe that the object in question seems shoddy or is not up to my expectations of the brand with the secondary meaning.
3. I conclude that the brand owner is to blame and, therefore, the value of the mark is harmed.
I’ve never understood (nor do the cases explain well) how you get from step #2 to step #3. I strongly doubt that most people make judgments from used goods about new goods for the obvious reason that any deterioration (or gap in performance) is probably due to age or abuse from the owner.
Moreover, in a world of 3-D printing, lots of home-manufactured goods are going to look like familiar trade dress because people will print them that way. Not because they are trying to deceive anyone, but because they just like the shape. Granted, this may lead to trademark infringement suits against the individual user, the software programmer, or the manufacturer of the device, but it would far simpler to just abolish the doctrine entirely unless people actually use 3D printers to reproduce logos.
October 30, 2012 at 4:47 pm
Posted in: Intellectual Property, Uncategorized
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Responses (2)
TDG - October 30, 2012 at 7:44 pm
This should be helpful: http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=1798867
The idea that consumers think the product will be shoddy or not up to snuff seems like a canard in most cases. In borderline counterfeit goods scenarios (knockoff Gucci bags), it seems like the bigger problem from the producer’s end is that high-end consumers will see lower-status individuals aping the buying habits of high-end consumers, at which point high-end consumers who realize this will stop purchasing the producer’s goods. In similar goods scenarios, the problem seems to be more about carving out a broader market space for the goods than about consumer confusion.
traffic tickets in new jersey - October 31, 2012 at 3:18 am
The theory in which buyers consider the item will probably be poor or perhaps not necessarily around snuff may seem like any canard typically. Inside related items cases, the situation is apparently a lot more concerning carving out there any larger industry area for your items as compared to concerning buyer distress.
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