Case Analysis : Snow White Vs. Cinderella

“What goes around comes around, that’s what people say. So all the pain you caused me will come back to you someday” (Unknown.) The theme of “what goes around comes around” is exemplified in both the Grimm version and the Disney version of Cinderella, however the Grimm version definitely exemplifies the theme more effectively than the Disney version does.

Trademark rights can be acquired by being the first to put the mark to use in commerce

The legal issue in dispute here is whether Star Athletica had committed copyright infringement on Varsity Brand’s uniform designs. While this case was in court, it was brought into question whether Varsity Brand had the right to copyright their uniform designs (color combinations, stripes and patterns). Depending upon whether Varsity Brands could copyright their uniform designs, would determine if Star Athletica was infringing upon those rights. Clarification about the ability to copyright designs would affect the fashion industry. Hence, this case received considerable attention.

Lastly, cases outside the Sixth Circuit have ruled that products other than knockoffs can create downstream confusion. The courts in Lois Sportswear and Payless both are examples of cases where non-knockoff products created downstream confusion. Lois Sportswear, U.S.A., Inc. v. Levi Strauss & Co., 799 F.2d 867, 872 (2d Cir. 1986); Payless Shoesource, Inc. v. Reebok Int’l Ltd., 998 F.2d 985, 987 (Fed. Cir. 1993). In Lois Sportswear, the court explained that the confusion occurred when a consumer saw the familiar stitching pattern on the defendant’s jeans and associated “the jeans with appellee and that association influence[d] his buying decisions.” 799 F.2d at 872. The court makes no mention nor implies that the defendant’s jeans were a knockoff of plaintiff’s jeans. Similarly, in Payless, a case in the federal circuit, Reebok contended that “[post-sale] confusion occurs . . . when a consumer observes someone wearing a pair of Payless

This case study touches on many topics within licensing but the three most dominant aspects within the Warnaco Group vs. Calvin Klein suit are the agreements and understandings discussed with a contract, the rights to a trademark and the rights of both the licensor and the licensee. While briefing this case study one can not help but notice, stated on page 21, the agreements that are displayed in exhibit 1: Excerpts from Calvin Klein Jeanswear Licensing Agreement. Here it is clear that the agreement, signed by BOTH parties, states that Warnaco agrees to maximize the quantity of Articles sold, and will be consistent with CKI’s past practices. One can assume, that due to the prolonged history between the two parties this includes Costco, Sam’s Club and BJs store, which alone were held responsible for 150 million dollars in warehouse sales, just one year prior to the filing of the lawsuit. It is also important to point out that this licensing agreement is not with CKI as the owner, it is in fact a licensing agreement with the CK Trademark Trust being the beneficial owner to ALL rights, titles and interest in or to the Licensed Mark. The licensing agreement then continues to state that “Warnaco controls any such act or thing which may cause any affect to the Trust.” With the understanding of licensing,

The Lanham Act defines the term trademark to include “any word, name, symbol, or device, or any combination thereof . . . to identify and distinguish his or her goods . . . and to indicate the source of the goods, even if that source is unknown.” The United States Patent and Trademark Office and the U.S. federal courts have interpreted the definition liberally allowing a breath of nontraditional marks to be registered if it.

The company Nike has been around for almost a half a century. It has had many ups and downs. The down time for this company was very exposed during my childhood. I never really got over all the bad publicity that the company received and because of that stigma, I still choose to not purchase Nike products.

In determining whether a trademark is inherently distinctive or not, the courts have come up with certain tests. The classic test for determining a trademark’s distinctiveness was outlined in Abercrombie & Fitch Co. v. Hunting World, Inc. The Abercrombie spectrum is one of the most accepted one in trade dress cases, and is has a universal acceptance in determining trade dresses distinctiveness. The prime factors that are considered in the court are the degree to which the trademark or trade dress is generic, descriptive, arbitrary, suggestive, or fanciful. Some courts include this widely accepted test into their own versions of tests.

The company that sued Nike was Apple they later released a statement saying, “The Beatles position is that they don’t sing jingles to peddle sneakers, beer, pantyhose or anything else. …They wrote and recorded these songs as artists and not as pitch-men for any product (1987).” The Nike “Revolution” ad not only helped to sell lots of Nike athletic shoes, but also helped to sell, and introduced the Beatles’ music to a new generation of listeners. The Beatles are iconic and everyone wanted to be associated with the group’s fame and success. The Beatles were the pop revolution, they created something special for fans, companies, and other musicians to follow and

This is probably why they chose to purse the claim of consumer confusion instead of trademark

One of the most debated topics in sport is the use of sport teams/organization trademarks. A trademark is a “mark” (word, phrase, symbol, design, mark, device, or combination thereof) used to identify the source of a product and to distinguish them from the goods of others. Trademarks expand to things such as names, colors, typefaces, designs, etc. (citation 1)

Over the years, Snow White’s story has been told in numerous different versions then its original version in 1812 by the Grimm Brothers. The main basis of the story has remained the same. Only a few minor tweaks to the story have changed. The three versions of the story that are going to be analyzed are the original story “Little Snow White” by the Brothers Grimm, “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs” by Disney, and “Mirror, Mirror” by Disney also. They each were created in very different times and the original story has changed over the years to appeal to the audience of that time. No matter how many versions there are Snow White is considered, one of the most cherished fairy tales of all time. They each use different methods to get their

A good example of this would be to describe a pair of pants as having two legs instead of one does not create a violation of any mark held by American Eagle for its pants. In this situation, the use of this phrasing associated with the pants is simply accessing the primary use of the term. This does not borrow on any marks held by American Eagle. The company in question, Clean Clothes in regards to the Alpaca looking garment does not knowingly borrow the phrase from Men2Wimmin willfully and with intent of trademarking it.

The two stories of “Cinderella” are “Tam and Cam”; and “The twelve Months: A Slav legend adapted by Alexander Chodzko. These stories have similar ways in portraying the hard working Cinderella including her suffering, but they are different in Cinderella’s motive of rescue one tale use violence if necessary; the other just more of a genuine resourceful approach. This means this character isn’t relying on a prince charming to be her rescue, so this makes the concept different from the other because “Tam and Cam” Cinderella lives forever happy with her lover, while “The twelve Months: A Slav legend adapted lives by herself and then a farmer she likes shows up. These tales went for a more sophisticated setting, each displaying the peasant overcoming the struggle; in which she is set free from all of her hurting. Throughout each story Cinderella is taking and caring she always seemed to get the short end of the stick. But, when the odds back fired on the step-sisters and step-mother the karma was naturally set upon to benefit Cinderella in her favor “Tam and Cam” or set in motion by her as payback to get even with her rival characters of a family in “The twelve Months: A Slav legend adapted lives.

In the 1937 film Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, the tale revolutionized and began a Golden Age of animation. Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs was the very first full length animated motion picture as well as the first film to release a motion-picture soundtrack recording in 1944 by the Disney studio. (Backlots) Also, “it was the first to employ the use of Technicolor, and features the first large-scale use of the multiplane camera which became a signature at Disney for decades”. (Backlots)