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Typeface as Trademark Subject Matter

There are three types of protection that can be afforded to typefaces and fonts in addition to basic license agreements: trademark, design patent, and copyright. These are intended to keep non licensees from copying the fonts in some way and passing them off as original material. The trademark system is the weakest form of protection, allowing only the font name itself to be protected. This means that no one is allowed to use a currently existing typeface name for a new font, even if the fonts are completely unrelated. The design patent system is the strongest, but it is the most uncommon type of protection.

The Federal Trademark Dilution Act of 1995

The Federal Trademark Dilution Act of 1995 serves to broaden the rights granted to famous trademarks under the Trademark Act of 1946 (also known as the Lanham Act). It strengthens the protection that famous trademarks are given by prohibiting dilution of the famous trademarks by third parties.

Plant Patents

Under United States patent law, a patent may be obtained for mutations, hybrids, seedlings, and sports of known, cultivated plants. A sport is a new type of growth on a known plant such as a flower of a different color than is usual for that plant or a different growth pattern in the plant's branches or stems. If a new plant is not the result of breeding efforts but rather originated from a seedling that was discovered, the environment and conditions must be described to establish that the plant was found in an area of cultivated plants and not in the wild. A wholly new plant discovered in the wild may not be patented. In order for a new plant to be patented, it must have at least one significant and distinguishable characteristic that differs from existing varieties of the plant. Plants that are reproduced through their tubers, such as the Irish potato and Jerusalem artichokes, are specifically designated by the patent statute as ineligible for a plant patent.

Copyright Statutory Formalities

Copyright protection in the United States is automatic upon the fixation of an original work of authorship. The use of the copyright notice and the registration of a work are referred to as formalities, which are the procedural requirements for securing and maintaining full copyright protection, and were formerly requirements for copyright protection. Some of the most sweeping changes under the 1976 Copyright Act involve copyright formalities.

Passing Off

In "passing off" a seller associates another party's mark with a good or service. The law of passing off concerns unfair competition more generally in situations where there does not need to be a registered trademark or any other intellectual property right. Where a second business does something so that the public is misled into thinking that the activity is associated with a first business and as a result the first business suffers some damage, then it may be possible for the first business to sue the second business for passing off. One area where passing off might apply is where a second person uses an unregistered trademark normally used by a first person and in so doing passes off, or represents, goods or services in such away that the public is deceived into thinking the goods or services are being offered by the first person. This area of law arises out of the common law rather than statute