Straker Bar hosted Expungement Clinic for Metro Detroit residents
The D. Augustus Straker Bar Association, in partnership with Lakeshore Legal Aid and Southfield Human Services, hosted an expungement clinic on January 8.
Approximately 240 people attended the clinic, which was held in Southfield and open to residents of Oakland, Macomb, and Wayne counties. Attorneys from Straker Bar Association, Lakeshore Legal Aid and local law firms provided pro bono legal services. More than 40 volunteers, including law students, attorneys and staff from each organization, worked throughout the day to bring services to the community, and to make the expungement clinic a “tremendous success,” according to a spokesman for the Straker Bar.
The D. Augustus Straker Bar Association is named after David Augustus Straker, who was the first African American to appear before the Michigan Supreme Court. The bar association was formed on October 4, 1990, as a special purpose bar association recognized by the State Bar of Michigan.
Court of Appeals overturns ruling against manufacturer
Warner Norcross & Judd LLP partners Brian Wassom and Matthew Nelson recently received a favorable ruling on behalf of Leapers, Inc., a manufacturer of rifle scopes.
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 6th Circuit, in a January 10 decision, overturned a lower court ruling that said that the rifle scope’s “knurling,” the crisscross grooves on the exterior of the scope, were functional in nature and therefore could not be protected by trademark law.
In the Leapers v. SMTS case, company officials admitted that the knurling is a functional component of a rifle scope, however, the company applies a purely ornamental design to its knurling on its rifle scopes and that this design—not knurling generally—constitutes its trade dress.
“The district court was correct that knurling is ‘inalterably functional’ in that it allows a rifle scope user to ‘grasp or grip a thing more securely,’” U.S Circuit Judge Eric L. Clay wrote. “However, plaintiff does not assert that its trade dress consists of knurling, rather, plaintiff alleges that its trade dress consists of a unique design that is printed into knurling.”
“The court rightly acknowledged there’s room for expressing creativity and commercial identity even in products that some people may not recognize as having a creative aspect,” said Wassom. “This ruling further affirms the importance and utility of trade dress protection for manufacturers in all industries.”
The case now returns to the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan for further consideration.
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