The Trademarks and Unfair Competition Deskbook, Ninth Edition provides practitioners of trademark and unfair competition law an organized guide to the decisions, legislation, treatises, and commentary, a delineation of the principal questions and problems to be expected, and an up-to-date synthesis of the current and developing law. The explosion in litigation affects every chapter.

The internet has sparked phenomenal growth in the importance and scope of trademark and unfair competition law. Effective branding − creating and maintaining a strong commercial identity that cuts through the noise and connects with consumers − is more important than ever. At the same time, constitutional issues – pertaining to the Commerce Clause, the Patent and Copyright Clause, the Supremacy Clause, and the First Amendment – are reshaping modern trademark and unfair competition law, have been outcome-determinative in many high-profile cases, and are fueling influential debates in the academic literature. There continues to be an overall sense of excitement as the law responds to new technologies and increasingly sophisticated forms of communication. The Supreme Court is regularly deciding important intellectual property issues, as evidenced by the several recent decisions discussed in this Ninth Edition.

This Ninth Edition explores the continuing tension between the First Amendment and protection of trade identity, particularly in right of publicity cases. Chapter 8 is devoted entirely to First Amendment issues. Material is also provided on the Federal Trade Commission, which has been actively battling deceptive advertising and marketing schemes and data breaches, as well as material on other governmental agencies such as the Food and Drug Administration.

This Ninth Edition is unique among intellectual property resources in structure, conciseness and content. In part this is because, in addition to having taught the subject for many years at top law schools, the authors actively litigate intellectual property cases across the U.S.