May 14, 2008

More News & Events   |   Home Michael B. Weitman ’07 Wins Burton Award for Legal Writing Michael B. Weitman ’07 is one of 15 law students in the country to win the 2007 Burton Award for Legal Writing, presented in association with The Library of Congress and its Law Library. His winning note, “Fair Use in the Post-KP Permanent World: How Importing Principles from Copyright Law Will Lead to Less Confusion in Trademark Law,” was first published in the summer 2006 issue of the Brooklyn Law Review. Law students from Columbia, Yale, and the University of Pennsylvania were among the other winners this year, as were 30 law firm partners, including Brooklyn Law alumnus Marc J. Pensabene ’94, a partner in the intellectual property law firm Fitzpatrick, Cella, Harper & Scinto. [A previous winner was Rachel Braunstein ’03, now with Fried, Frank, Harris, Shriver & Jacobson LLP, who won a 2003 Burton award.] “We are pleased that Brooklyn Law has been recognized again by the Burton Foundation and congratulate Michael on his outstanding article,” said Dean Joan G. Wexler. “It is a real tribute to the high quality of scholarship of our student law reviews.” Faculty advisors and student editors reviewed several law review articles before recommending Weitman’s note to the Dean for nomination for the Burton Award. The award ceremony on June 4 at the Library of Congress will feature CBS News’ chief Washington correspondent Bob Schieffer as the guest speaker. Weitman was taking a class in trademark law when he began formulating his ideas for the note about “KP Permanent,” the 2004 Supreme Court decision stating that a party claiming fair use in a trademark case does not have to prove the use will not confuse consumers. To explain the concept, Weitman used the example of an Internet shopper who bought what he thought was American Idol merchandise. He had actually purchased goods made by a losing contestant on the TV show, a man whose web site touted him as “A Real American Idol.” In such a case, the show’s producers would have a potential claim for trademark infringement, but the contestant could assert statutory fair use of the descriptive phrase, even though it was confusing to the consumer. Weitman wrote that in the KP Permanent decision, “the Supreme Court failed to give any indication as to just how much confusion could defeat the fair use defense.” Where trademark law is fuzzy, copyright law is not. Weitman said, “Copyright’s fair use test has given lower courts the clear guidance lacking in trademark law.” In copyright cases, certain factors are used by the courts to determine if an alleged infringing use is fair, including the purpose and character of the use; the nature of the copyrighted work; the size and substance of the portion used; and the effect on the market for or value of the copyrighted material. Weitman’s note demonstrates why judges who look to parallels in copyright law for decisions in trademark cases are moving in the right direction and suggests other ways to implement this approach. He credits Professors Samuel Murumba and Christopher Serkin for their guidance of his research and analysis. Weitman served as Managing Editor of the Brooklyn Law Review, was a member of the Moot Court Honor Society, a Lisle Merit Scholar and a CALI Award winner. He received a B.A. from Boston University. Born in Brooklyn Heights, he grew up in New Jersey and spent several years working at home and abroad as keyboardist for Atlantic Records, and a composer and music publisher among other jobs before returning to the area for law school. He was a judicial intern for U.S. District Court Judge David G. Trager of the Eastern District of New York; worked in the Workers’ Rights Clinic and interned at the Kings County District Attorney’s Office. A summer associate in 2006 at Seward & Kissel, LLP, he will join the firm this fall. Read Weitman's award-winning note in the Brooklyn Law Review. (PDF)

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