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Copright And Patent Laws

 

(Estok 30) Roth 4 Materials are being copied in many different ways by many different people ranging from the nice neighborhood man who copies a computer game for a friend of his, to large production factories called sweatshops. Sweatshops are illegal factories in which patent products are counterfeited for a profit. In these sweatshops workers slave to counterfeit expensive, top-quality products which are then sold illegally for high prices. Company and product logos are another category subject to copying. A "logo" is defined as an advertising symbol that represents a product or service or conveys a message about a product or service. Some logos like Coca Cola are known around the world, and symbols like McDonald's "golden arches" are recognized by people of all generations. One major component that leads people to recognize products is color, and just recently a Supreme Court decision ruled that the color of commercial dry-cleaning press pads can be trademarked. Justice Stephen Breyer ruled that, "Qualitex can trademark its press pads' 'sun glow' green-gold color because that color has attained a 'secondary meaning,' which in effect distinguishes a particular brand." (Reske 28) Roth 5 Obviously, ownership of logos and/or symbols can become complicated and difficult to maintain. For years, orange juice has been associated with the abbreviation of O. J. Today, because of the fact that sports celebrity O. J. Simpson has become so famous, (and later infamous, as well), his initials have become the subject of dispute. Recently, Mr. Simpson agreed to share marketing rights of his initials with the Florida Department of Citrus. In turn, the agency that markets Florida's citrus products has withdrawn opposition to his attempt to trademark his initials. According to Clark Jennings, a lawyer for the citrus agency, Mr. Simpson was not paid any money; but "Simpson can pursue his interests, and we can use O.


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