I Phone, You Phone, We All Phone with iPhone: Trademark Law and Ethics from an International and Domestic Perspective

• Published date: 01 July 2011
• Author: Tammy W. Cowart,Wade M. Chumney
• Date: 01 July 2011
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1111/j.1744-1722.2011.01093.x

I Phone, You Phone, We All Phone

with iPhone: Trademark Law and

Ethics from an International and

Domestic Perspective

Tammy W. Cowart

n

and Wade M. Chumney

nn

If there is something good in the world then we copy with pride.

1

I. INTRODUCTION

In today’s Internet-based and global business environment, the legal issues

companies face will often involve issues of intellectual property. In fact,

intellectual property-based businesses ‘‘drive more economic growth in the

United States than any other single sector.’’

2

Virtually every product we

purchase is protected by a trademark, a patent, and/or copyrights. Thus,

basic concepts of intellectual property are a natural component in any

business law or legal environment course.

3

r2011 The Authors

Journal of Legal Studies Education r2011 Academy of Legal Studies in Business

331

Journal of Legal Studies Education

Volume 28, Issue 2, 331–355, Summer/Fall 2011

n

Assistant Professor of Business Law, University of Texas at Tyler; B.S., Texas A&M

University; J.D., Texas Tech University School of Law.

nn

Cecil B. Day Assistant Professor of Business Ethics and Law, Georgia Institute of Technol-

ogy; B.A., Davidson College; M.S. (Information Systems), Dakota State University;J.D., Uni-

versity of Virginia School of Law.

1

Gordan Kelly, Nokia’s iPhone: We Copied Apple Says Company VP (Aug. 30, 2007), http://

www.trustedreviews.com/mobile-phones/news/2007/08/30/Nokias-iPhone-We-Copied-Apple-

Says-Company-VP/p1 (quoting Anssi Vanjoki, Nokia VP & General Manager of Multimedia,

on his company’s plans to release new phone similar to the iPhone in 2008).

2

Are You a Small Business?, Stop Fakes.Gov, http://www.uspto.gov/smallbusiness/index_

print.html (last visited Nov. 1, 2010).

3

Robert C. Bird, This Bud’s for You: Understanding International Intellectual Property L aw through

the Ongoing Dispute over the Budweiser Trademark,23J.LEGAL STUD.EDUC. 53, 84 (2006).

Case studies are often used in business law classes, utilizing real

or hypothetical fact patterns to help students identify and analyze real

business problems.

4

One can find numerous case studies for use in

the classroom involving intellectual property issues.

5

Cases can enhance

students’ analytical and reasoning skills

6

as they are realistic scenarios

that bridge the gap between theory and fact.

7

Students are most likely

to be engaged by a case and to put forth the effort required for its proper

analysis if they appreciate its relevance and timeliness.

With this in mind, what could be better than pulling an iPhone

out of your pocket and after demonstrating a few of its more captivating

features, proceeding to launch into a case study of the legal, ethical,

and business decisions required to put this phone in your hands?

Students are already very familiar with the iPhone and Apple,

Inc. (Apple), so the legal concepts are likely to resonate with them.

8

This case is designed to expose students to the Lanham Act, U.S.

Patent & Trademark Office (USPTO), and the registration system in

the United States, while also demonstrating the global issues involving

trademark registration and infringement. The following scenario

demonstrates how a product name, or trademark, can become a

major issue for companies. Part II.A of this case study presents the

facts of the dispute, and Part II.B contains questions for discussion, both

of which could be distributed to students in a classroom setting. Part III

contains a Teaching Note with background information in basic trademark

law concepts and guidance to use the case in a business law or business

ethics class.

4

See, e.g., Jeffrey Pittman, Consumer Electronics v. Jones & Diamond: A Hypothetical Case Study,29

J. LEGAL STUD.EDUC. 117 (2002).

5

See, e.g., Bird, supra note 3, at 1; Janell M. Kurtz & Drew Schuler, Competitive Intelligence

at Procter & Gamble: A Case Study in TradeSecrets,21J.L

EGAL STUD.EDUC. 109 (2003); Margo E.

K. Reder, Case Study of Apple, Inc. for Business Law Students: How Apple’s Business

Model Controls Digital Content Through Legal and Technological Means,26J.L

EGAL STUD.EDUC.

185 (2009).

6

Bird, supra note 3, at 1.

7

Pittman, supra note 4, at 118.

8

See Reder, supra note 5, at 186.

332 Vol. 28 / The Journal of Legal Studies Education