Trademark laws reduce customer confusion, prevent unfairness, and make communication between seller and buyer simple. Expanding legal protection coupled with aggressive «bullying» have restricted competition. Laws have failed to balance private interests (investments in business goodwill) with public interests (robust competition without barriers).

Catherine M. Manley is qualified both as a U.S. attorney (California) and as a solicitor (England and Wales). She obtained her B.A. from Yale University, her J.D. from Stanford University, and her LL.M. from Philipps-Universität Marburg, and was a research assistant at the Berkman Center for Internet and Society at Harvard Law School. She has practiced in Silicon Valley, London, Frankfurt, Hamburg, and Brussels.

Contents: The Trademark Paradox – Trademarks and their conflicting legal and commercial boundaries – Trademark bullies – Expanding legal rights – Private interests in investments in business goodwill – Public interests in robust market competition without barriers – Imbalance and conflicting interests.