Guides: Trademark Law Research Guide: Introduction & Getting Started

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Introduction

This guide was created for students conducting research in the area of trademark law. This guide, while not comprehensive, provides a solid starting point for research in this subject area.

Getting Started

Cornell LII's Wex, a free legal dictionary and legal encyclopedia, provides a quick overview of trademark law, including links to statutes, cases, treaties, and key internet sources.

For a more thorough overview of various aspects of U.S. trademark law, see the resources provided by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office on its website:

In addition, the following may be useful starting points for those new to trademark law principles:

Intellectual Property: A Global Directory of Acronyms and Abbreviations (2012)
Trademark Law: An Open-Source Casebook (TLOSC)
A free textbook designed for a four-credit trademark course by Barton Beebe, NYU School of Law.

Trademark and Unfair Competition in a Nutshell by Mark Janis
Call Number: Reading Room Study Aids KF3180 .J26
This popular study aid includes an introduction to trademark and unfair competition including discussions of distinctiveness, functionality, use, registration , geographic limits on trademark rights, confusion-based trademark liability theories , non-confusion-based claims, permissible uses of another's trademark, false advertising, the right of publicity, and more. Trademark and Unfair Competition in a Nutshell is also available online via West Academic Study Aids.
Understanding Trademark Law by Mary LaFrance
Call Number: Reading Room Study Aids KF3180 .L34
This study aid provides an introduction to the federal laws protecting registered trademarks and trade dress, as well as the broad array of federal and state unfair competition doctrines which protect unregistered trademarks and trade dress. Coverage includes the standards and procedures for obtaining federal registration, the rights and remedies available to owners of both registered and common law marks under federal and state law, and the full array of applicable defenses.
McCarthy on Trademarks and Unfair Competition by J. Thomas McCarthy
This preeminent treatise discusses the function of trademarks and their protection, assignment and licensing, infringement, the principles of unfair competition and the Patent and Trademark Office's proceedings. The appendices cover the texts of statutes, rules of practice, legislative history and tables of cases and statutes.

Additional Research Guides

The loose-leaf treatise Specialized Legal Research (Penny Hazelton, ed.) includes a very thorough chapter on researching federal patent and trademark law. It is available in print at the Williams Reference Desk (KF240 .S64 2014).

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Update History

Links 6/2020 (SLN)
Updated 7/2022 (AG)

Trademark Law Research Guide

Contents