You Can't Handle the Truth (in Music): Does the Lanham Act Preempt State 'Truth in Music'Laws?

摘要

Conflicting intellectual property regimes between the states and the federal government are an increasing problem. One relatively new species of state intellectual property protection that may conflict with federal trademark regulation is the "Truth in Music"statute, a version of which has become law in some thirty-three states. Truth in Music (TIM) laws punish attempts by performing musical groups to improperly capitalize on the success of recording acts. In a number of common scenarios, it is not clear that these statutes can survive preemption analysis under the federal Lanham Act, the primary source of federal trademark protection. This article explores TIM statutes and analyzes whether preemption is likely to be the fate of this new state intellectual property regime.