joegratz.net

As reported here at TTABlog, Leo Stoller, the litigious trademark abuser who has not yet sued me for blogging about him here, has been sanctioned by the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board. He’s filed over 1,800 groundless motions for extensions of time to oppose trademark filings, and apparently uses that time to attempt to extract settlement money from the applicants. The order vacates those extensions and bars Stoller from filing more for two years. Thereafter, Stoller will have to file through an attorney — and it seems likely his filings will have to decrease in number or increase in quality, because attorneys (unlike unrepresented litigants like Stoller) can be disbarred for making groundless filings.

On his blog, Stoller vigorously opposes the sanction order (speaking about himself, as he always does on his blog, in the third person). In an amusing twist, Stoller illustrates his argument that the TTAB’s ruling is unconstitutional with this graphic:

Perceptive readers may have noticed that, rather than being a general illustration about unconsitutionality, this image is the logo of the documentary Unconstitutional, which was made, according to its director Robert Greenwald, “to show Americans the extent to which our civil liberties and our freedoms have been trampled upon by our government since 9/11.” (Incidentally, I have two words for geek readers, and I implore everyone else not to look it up. “Constitutional Goatse.” I’m just sayin’.) The film’s title constitutes use of an ordinary English word as a trademark — use that, according to Stoller’s arguments, deserves absolute protection from infringement (say, by using the logo to promote one’s own product or service on one’s blog, which could arguably be blurring or, in the case of an association with Stoller, tarnishment).

It’s always good to see an IP bully be cut down to size. I look forward to reading the D.C. Circuit’s opinion in the inevitable appeal.