Very interesting! There has been some attempts to control the breadth of the Lanham Act, like Dastar Corp. v. Twentieth Century FoxFilm Corp in 2003. I think if it gets to the point of ridiculousness, like in the scenarios we discussed (luckily it's not quite that bad yet), we'll see more verdicts limiting it. When it would really get interesting is if two people equally associated with a piece of intellectual property want to do different things with it - one wants to allow a satire, one doesn't, both feel strongly.... could get ugly! lol
But that's what the lawyers are for - to hammer out stuff like this, right? It's why the law is so mutable - when one act starts getting out of control, new laws come along to limit it. In the legal field, one can never really say "this law means that" because another lawyer will argue it doesn't! And each will pull out precedents... I guess it's all about which lawyer argues the best and the mood of the judge rather than which is truly in the right, eh? Depressing thought. Thank goodness for honorable lawyers, though!
We say we know the Ataris would lose the example case, but how many times has a verdict been pronounced that made everyone's jaw drop? You hear about some cases that just make you cringe - The burglar who sued a homeowner for hurting him in the midst of the robbery, and won - and the homeowner went to freaking prison. The murderer whose lawyers were able to figure out a way to get him acquitted by a defense that amounts to "gay panic" (I know the defendant's lawyer would not characterize it as such, but the result is the same - murderer acquitted with a defense that seems ridiculous. I'm thinking of the Joseph Biedermann case). Obviously the jury comes into play in these cases but my point is that the court is unpredictable and anyone who thinks they have it in the bag better not get too cocky. I guess that's why there's appeal, though.... and why so many choose to settle.
Again, thanks! But I have to admit the thought of the Dixie Chicks, who had a bigger hit with Landslide than Fleetwood Mac, could argue that they could control Stevie Nicks' work regardless of her wishes makes me hoppin' mad!!