Thoughts on My Looming 50th Year College Reunion

Posted on by Michael Kahn
Way back in May of 1974, I graduated from Amherst College. It was a memorable day, including joining three of best friends on the podium for a goofy commencement address to our fellow grads and their parents. That’s me, second from the left, with the telltale 1970s white belt. And like so many of us…
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More Seductive Pick-Up Lines for Authors

Posted on by Michael Kahn
As I have previously written, an enticing opening sentence to a novel is the author’s equivalent of a seductive pick-up line in a singles bar. You want to grab the attention of–indeed, entice–that potential reader who just picked your book off the shelf at the bookstore and, after examining the cover, opens to page 1…
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You Can’t Make This Stuff Up

Posted on by Michael Kahn
As I have stated before, the legal world offers up frequent new evidence in support of that hoary maxim: “Truth is stranger than fiction.” A copyright lawsuit over a farting doll? Check. A trademark registration dispute of the brand of a sucker (lollipop) for fans of the University of South Carolina Gamecocks? Check. And thus…
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More Thoughts on the Brave New World of X-Rated Trademarks

Posted on by Michael Kahn
Yes, you are looking at the one-word trademark whose registration dispute eventually reached the United States Supreme Court. The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office had refused to register the FUCT trademark for apparel. The ground for refusal? Section 2(a) of the Lanham Act, which prohibited the registration of trademarks that were immoral or scandalous. Erik…
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