A plaintiff who alleges that a competitor is engaging in unfair competition under the Lanham Act, which protects unregistered trademarks from unfair competition, for selling a look-alike product, that is, a trade dress/product design claim, must establish, among other things, that the plaintiff’s design is not “functional.” It is this question of functionality that has caused courts the most problems, with a multiplicity of inconsistent decisions by the courts of appeal and an inscrutable decision by the U.S. Supreme Court at the center, all written about at length by numerous commentators. Don Vowell takes an in depth look into how functionality can be applied.

April 23, in a 3-2 decision, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) narrowly approved the issuance of a revised final rule (“Rule”) that prohibits most post-employment noncompete agreements nationwide. In doing so, the FTC determined that noncompetes are an unfair method of competition and violate Section 5 of the Federal Trade Commission Act. While this action was immediately met with cheers by most employees and jeers by most employers, Tom Shumate examines how its immediate, short-term impact may be overstated.

The pressure to compete in law school is extreme. Unfortunately, over the last two decades, more and more law students have adopted a “doping to win” strategy that involves illicitly abusing the prescription drug Adderall, which is normally used to treat attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Buddy Stockwell explores the growing problem and provides some solutions for addressing it.

Chancellor Andrew Allison of Tennessee’s sixth chancery division, comprising Davidson and Williamson counties, was the third president of the Tennessee Bar Association. He was also, according to Russell Fowler's latest deep dive into Tennessee legal history, killed outside of a courtroom in the old Davidson County Courthouse by his clerk and master.

In this installment of Crime & Punishment, Wade Davies interviews Stephen D. Crump, executive director of the Tennessee District Attorneys General Conference (TNDAGC), which serves as the governmental liaison to all the other state government agencies, the governor and the Tennessee General Assembly, and provides human resources, fiscal and information technology support to over 1300 employees across the state's 32 Judicial Districts.

TBA's Annual Convention was held in Memphis in June. See photos from the events.

The Tennessee General Assembly adjourned on April 25, and 2024 proved to be a successful legislative year for the TBA. All of the legislative initiatives drafted by TBA Sections were passed by the General Assembly and signed into law by the governor. Additionally, TBA secured an additional $8.9 million of additional funding for court appointed attorneys representing the indigent. Read more about the TBA's legislative efforts.

Read about the lawyers who have recently been reinstated, disbarred, suspended, censured or transferred their licenses to disability inactive status.

John A. Day reviews Privileges and Protections: Tennessee and Sixth Circuit Law, by Nashville lawyers E. Todd Presnell and Kristi W. Arth, writing, "[T]he practicing lawyer needs a comprehensive book on the subject: when you need to know the law of privilege, you must be able to rely on what you read and the source must educate you to what you don’t know you don’t know. This all-inclusive book provides a lawyer with that assurance and that new knowledge."

Hon. Sharon Lee and Buck Lewis introduce The Justice Frank F. Drowota Trust, which will provide supplemental funds to direct providers of legal services to Tennessee’s low-income citizens. With funding from this section 501(c) charitable trust, legal aid organizations will have more resources to serve more individuals with their unmet civil legal needs. Learn how the trust is working to help close the justice gap.