Mentor Assessment #1

Name: Shloka Ramshankar

Topic: Intellectual Property Law (Trademark Law)

Date: March 16, 2018

Preview: At my fourth mentor meeting, Ms. Richard and I reviewed the introduction of my case
report. She read through the entirety of the introduction on her own and then provided feedback
to me. In fact, she even took the initiative to mark on the physical copy of my work with a red
pen. There were specific suggestions that Ms. Richard provided for me to enhance the
introduction. First, she suggested that I elaborate on the definition of a trademark, since I literally
only provided one sentence to it. Next, she recommended separating the historical evolution of
trademark law from the definition section. Finally, she provided a few format related tips, such
as grammatical structure and point of view. Below is the introduction before revisions.

Introduction:

Trademark: a registered mark or symbol of some kind used to identify goods and

services.

The development of identifiable “marks” dates back to circa. 5000 B.C. among

Transylvanian pottery. Similar marks used to identify artifacts have been seen throughout history

among some of the most iconic civilizations, such as the Greeks and Egyptians. With the start of

the 12th century, marks of trade became more apparents due to the rise of printers’ marks.

Moving forward, the turn of the 19th century coupled with the Industrial Revolution saw a

necessity to regulate market trade and distinguish a variety of goods, which lead to the

development of the modern trademark. During the Reconstruction Era following the Civil War,

the first Federal Trademark Law was enacted in 1870, as manufacturers found a need to better

protects their products from infringement. Further, the economic boom after World War II lead

to the passage of the Lanham Act of 1946, which established a procedure for federal registration

of trademarks. In fact, the public started to become so knowledgeable about the trademark
phenomenon, especially with the spread of television in the 1950s, that the amount of trademark

applications filed at the Patent Office skyrocketed. As a result, the Trademark Trial and Appeal

Board was established in 1958 to streamline the trademark filing process. However, the growth

of this intellectual property also came with its negative effects, specifically a massive rise in

counterfeiting. Congress passed the Trademark Counterfeiting Act of 1984 to combat this issue

and later amended it in 1988 to bring U.S. Trademark Law more geared towards the global

market. Following the dot com bubble in 1995, trademark infringement on the internet became

another prominent issue as well. Thus, Congress then moved to further amend the previous

Counterfeiting Act in 1999, through the addition of the Anticybersquatting Consumer Protection

Act. Essentially, this meant that owners of a specific trademark also have the rights to the

respective domain name. For example, no other entity besides Coca Cola can register a varied

domain name like cokacola.com on the internet. So the current language of trademark law

ultimately evolved from fraud and unfair competition within society.

The significance of trademark law in this day and age cannot be disputed. It allows for

the protection of consumers and producers alike, while encouraging economic growth. Further,

trademark law allows for competition within the marketplace to also flourish. With the rise of the

internet, however, this branch of intellectual property law has been seeing several problems

within the status quo. Naturally as the internet has grown, the amount of information online has

also become overwhelming. As a result, trademark owners face an increasingly difficult time

regulating their marks and brands in the digital space. Upon consideration of this situation, the

premise of this report began with the question: How is technology affecting the status of

trademarks ? In response, I analyzed both the challenges and opportunities that technology is

posing to trademark protection. The following three areas of analyses will be analyzed 1)
Domain Names and Cybersquatting, 2) E Commerce Platforms and Brand Protection, and 3)

China versus United States Competition.

Reflection: This past mentor meeting demonstrated to me why I really enjoy my area of study.
While I did not conduct any observations of anything like a STEM individual may have, I
developed self reflection and analysis skills that are required in my future career. Ms. Richard
forced me to look at my own writing from the perspective of a corporation or even a small legal
firm and restructure the introduction. By encouraging me to take on this point of view, I
indirectly learn how to frame my claims in an objective yet also persuasive way. These are
exactly the kind of methods a lawyer needs to develop to serve client effectively or contribute
effectively as a general counsel. Truly, this past mentor meeting really allowed me to start
developing such soft skills that will ultimately assist in my future professional endeavors.