Why Is Trademark Successful in Court?

Registering your trademark is the effort of taking control of your strawman by preventing third parties from conducting commerce or profiting from the use of your registered mark. All government agencies conduct commerce. Such commerce can be between other governments, government agencies or instrumentalities, vendors, and also with YOU (notice the caps)!

Absolute immunity protects judicial officers from civil lawsuits for actions taken in their judicial capacity. The actions must be taken within the judicial officer’s jurisdiction, even if those actions are alleged to be malicious or corrupt, but is limited to purely judicial actions. And it does not apply to criminal prosecutions of the judicial officer. The result is that absolute immunity does not apply to actions taken in an administrative capacity.

Judicial immunity shields judicial officers from personal liability for actions taken in their judicial capacity and it also covers decisions made within the judicial officer’s jurisdiction. It covers judicial decisions and rulings, orders issued from the bench, management of court proceedings. It also does not apply to criminal prosecution of the judicial officer, actions that are clearly outside of that judicial officer’s jurisdiction, or administrative or executive functions of the court. The result is the same as with absolute immunity.

Judicial officers regularly perform their duties in different capacities (admiralty/maritime/administration/ministerial/arbitration) within the same matter. Administration is always among the most used of these capacities in any given matter before the court.

15 U.S.C. § 1122 already tells us clearly that your state’s and the United State’s sovereign immunity is waived when trademarks are infringed.

The only lawful exception of using a registered trademark without a license is “fair use” (15 U.S.C. § 1125(c)(3)(a)). Examples of fair use includes criticism, commentary, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, and research. Courts participate in NONE of these acts! This leaves the only way for a court to continue its actions is to either:

  • get a license for the mark before proceeding, or

  • abandon the matter before the court

Many courts use “color of law” to administrate the matters before them. Some of these courts include traffic, probate, housing, landlord/tenant, child support (Title IV-D), child protective services (Title IV-E), tax, and bankruptcy. Matters filed in civil or criminal courts may not be as available to trademark protections because these matters are more likely to be matters of controversy between litigants (a victim is involved). As we are directed to remain in honor at all times, in all circumstances, we must make our opposition whole if we have caused them an injury, especially in the performance of a contract.

So, an instrumentality of the state that is also an administrative agency (court) conducting administrative acts (filing the case on the record, fines/fees/penalties/bails/taxes/warrants) by administrative agents (judicial officers) to further the agency’s own revenues earnings (sharing your mark with other agencies for enforcement/surveillance/regulation or adding to the jurisdiction’s revenues in any way) makes that same act an infringement of your mark! If the purpose of the court action is to acquire the previously mentioned fines, fees, penalties, bails, taxes, and warrants to add to the jurisdiction’s budget in any way, then the awards are prima facie evidence that the jurisdiction has infringed on your mark!

And you have a duty to protect your mark!

Trademark Your Strawman today…

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