Hubris and Trademark Law or Yet Another Case of What Were They Thinking?

Some day someone is going to explain how organizations can become so blinded by their particular view of the world that they undertake a foolish act. But worse, when everyone else can see how foolish the organization has been, when the act could be minimized by an apology, the organization, overflowing with pride and arrogance makes matters far worse by undertaking more foolish acts.

And so it is with the Jones Day/BlockShopper trademark case. Having tortured trademark law doctrine to force a Chicago web site developer to stop disclosing real estate information involving their associates, Jones Day found themselves drowning in bad publicity. Not only that but the defendant got some high profile legal help from the Electronic Frontier Foundation, a well known public interest organization.

So now have cooler heads prevailed? Of course not. Jones Day has filed a motion seeking to prevent the EFF from filing its amicus brief. Generating yet more bad publicity and making Jones Day seem ever more like a bully.

Once again I will go way out on a limb. Jones Day will lose. And it won't matter how elegant their papers. Or how much manpower they throw at this matter. Because Jones Day has lost the ability to see beyond their own view of the world.