WCVB-TV v. Boston Athletic Ass'n’s Empirical Analysis
926 F.2d 42 · 1991
Citation profile
20 federal appellate · 7 district · 1 state decisions
How this case has been cited
Cited by 47 later decisions — most recently December 2014 · most notably International Ass'n of Machinists & Aerospace Workers v. Winship Green Nursing Center (1996), New Kids on the Block v. News America Publishing, Inc. (1992)
20 federal appellate · 7 district · 1 state decisions
Later decisions citing this case, by decade. The current decade is in progress, and our corpus holds fewer opinions from the most recent years, so the latest bars are undercounted — not a real decline.
Relationships
Applies 15 U.S.C. § 1114 (§ 32 of the Trademark Act of 1946 (Lanham Act)) · 15 U.S.C. § 1115 (§ 33 of the Trademark Act of 1946 (Lanham Act)) · 15 U.S.C. § 1125 (§ 43 of the Trademark Act of 1946 (Lanham Act)) · 17 U.S.C. § 101 (§ 101 of the Copyright Act of 1976) · 35 U.S.C. § 101
Relies on In re Kauffman Mutual Fund Actions · United Parcel Service, Inc. v. Mitchell · Knetsch v. United States · Lear, Inc. v. Adkins · International News Service v. Associated Press
Most-quoted passages
The sentences later courts lift from this opinion, ranked by how many decisions quote each — the parts of the opinion doing the work. These counts are smaller than the citation total above because most of the 47 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.
“[T]he words “Boston Marathon” ... do more than call attention to Channel 5’s program; they also describe the event that Channel 5 will broadcast.... [T]he use of words for descriptive purposes is called a “fair use,” and the law usually permits it even if the words themselves also constitute a trademark.”
3 later decisions quote this exact passage“... we can find no ease that would even prevent a challenge by a prior licensee, based upon post-license facts, after the license has expired. See generally 3 Callman, Unfair Competition, Trademarks & Monopolies § 19.48 (4th ed. 1989). We cannot think of any reason why such a licensee ought to be estopped; or why, a grant of a license should permanently immunize a trademark holder from legal attack. Compare Lear, Inc. v. Adkins, 395 U.S. 653 , 89 S.Ct. 1902 , 23 L.Ed.2d 610 (1969) (estoppel doctrine does not apply to patent licensees) with Beer Nuts, Inc. v. King Nut Co., 477 F.2d 326, 328-29 (6th Cir.), cert. denied, 414 U.S. 858 , 94 S.Ct. 66 , 38 L.Ed.2d 108 (1973) (estoppel doctrine does apply to trademark licensees).”
1 later decision quote this exact passage“... do more than call attention to Channel 5's program; they also describe the event that Channel 5 will broadcast. Common sense suggests (consistent with the record here) that a viewer who sees those words flash upon the screen will believe simply that Channel 5 will show, or is showing, or has shown, the marathon, not that Channel 5 has some special approval from the [trademark holder] to do so. In technical trademark jargon, the use of words for descriptive purposes is called a”
1 later decision quote this exact passage
How this case has been treated — in progress
Whether each later court followed, distinguished, criticized, or overruled this decision. The treatment classification (task #35) runs highest-cited cases first and lights up here as it reaches this one.