Holding Back the (Crimson) Tide of Trademark Litigation: The Eleventh Circuit Shields Works of Art from Lanham Act Claims in New Life Art

Abstract

On June 11, 2012, in University of Alabama Board of Trustees v. New Life Art, Inc., the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit held that the Lanham Act does not apply to works of art that include others’ trademarks as long as the use of the trademark is artistically relevant to the underlying work and does not explicitly mislead consumers into believing that the trademark holder endorsed or sponsored its use. In so holding, the Eleventh Circuit provided clarity to artists as to what types of trademark uses are permitted in their works. This Comment argues that the Eleventh Circuit’s standard is beneficial to artists and should be adopted by other courts.