Law Article: Navajo Nation fights for its intellectual property

Monday, April 2, 2012  

"The Navajo Nation's recent lawsuit reminds companies that unauthorized use of American Indian tribal names might be considered infringement and might also violate the federal Indian Arts & Crafts Act.

The Navajo Nation recently filed a lawsuit in federal court in New Mexico against popular clothing retailer Urban Outfitters, Inc. and its affiliates Anthropologie and Free People.1 The lawsuit, based on the defendants' unauthorized use of the terms "Navajo" and "Navaho," alleges trademark infringement, trademark dilution, and violation of the federal Indian Arts & Crafts Act (25 U.S.C. Section 305 et seq.). By obtaining multiple federal trademark registrations for the word "Navajo" and policing its marks as part of a planned enforcement strategy, the Navajo Nation positioned itself well to assert its intellectual property rights in federal court."

Get the Story:
Blaine I. Green, Robert B. Burlingame and Jeffrey Jacobi: Caution: tribal names not a free-for-all (Lexology 3/30)
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