Pa Court Rules Trademark law too vague

Pennsylvania no longer has a law prohibiting the use of trademarks without permission, as the highest court in the commonwealth declared the Trademark Counterfeiting Statute unconstitutional last Monday.Two Centre County cases were factored into the Pennsylvania Supreme Court's 4-3 decision, which said the law was too vague and breached First Amendment rights.In one case, police arrested a man in May 2007 after finding boxes of counterfeit Nike shoes in his car during a speeding stop. The other case involved a man selling hats with the Penn State logo near Beaver Stadium in 2008.Defense attorney Karen Muir, who defended the man police said had counterfeit shoes, said the law was too vague and could apply to the smallest of things.Muir said she and Centre County Public Defender Sean McGraw appealed their cases to the Supreme Court in 2008, after Centre County Judge Thomas King Kistler said the law was too vague -- and the Pennsylvania Supreme Court agreed. "We are pleased that the Pennsylvania Supreme Court upheld Judge Kistler's decision," Muir said. "Kistler was saying the statue was unconstitutional, so no one should be charged or convicted."Justice Max Baer wrote that the law was unconstitutionally vague and overbroad, applying to constitutionally protected activity such as writing the words "Penn State" on a political sign.Pennsylvania State Police Trooper Aaron Tiracorda said he's been involved with six to 12 incidents in the past nine years involving trademark laws."It's no longer a crime," Tiracorda said. "As far as I'm concerned, there is nothing we can do because there is no legislation against it."Tiracorda said most of the cases he's encountered have been along Interstate 80 with items coming from New York. Many suspects are found transporting counterfeit Nike shoes, various brand-name clothing and Louis Vuitton handbags."We're trained to identify it along the roadside," he said. "And once we encounter it, we have to photograph the items and send it to different companies to authenticate it for court purposes."Centre County District Attorney Michael Madeira said no arrests will be made under the nullified law, but local and federal copyright laws still exist and could be applied in certain areas, including Beaver Stadium and across state lines. Penn State Police Deputy Director Tyrone Parham said his department is prohibited from charging anyone under the stricken law, and they haven't since the Supreme Court appeal.In a statement released on Penn State Live, the university said the high court's ruling will not affect Penn State's ownership of its trademarks. Individuals and businesses still have to obtain approval from the university to use Penn State's trademarks, according to the statement.Muir said she doesn't know how future cases will be handled, but she credits McGraw for the change in state law."Sean McGraw paved the way for these arguments," Muir said.