William Dodge
UC Davis School of Law
William S. Dodge (@ProfBillDodge) is Martin Luther King, Jr. Professor of Law and John D. Ayer Chair in Business Law at the University of California, Davis, School of Law. He served as Counselor on International Law to the Legal Adviser at the U.S. Department of State from 2011 to 2012 and as Co-Reporter for the American Law Institute’s Restatement (Fourth) of Foreign Relations Law from 2012 to 2018. He is currently a member of the Department of State’s Advisory Committee on International Law and an Adviser for the American Law Institute’s Restatement (Third) of Conflict of Laws. Professor Dodge is the co-author of Transnational Litigation in a Nutshell (2d ed. 2021) and Transnational Business Problems (6th ed. 2019). His articles on international law and transnational litigation have appeared in journals such as the Columbia Law Review, the Harvard Law Review, and the Yale Law Journal.
Cert Petition Highlights Circuit Split on Sovereign Immunity for Military Purchases
The Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act (FSIA) immunizes foreign states from suit in federal and state court. But it makes an exception for actions based on a foreign state’s commercial activities. The Supreme Court’s leading decision interpreting this exception is Republic of Argentina v. Weltover (1992), where the Court unanimously held “that when a foreign government…
Continue ReadingSupreme Court Focuses on Consumer Confusion in Extraterritorial Trademark Case
Yesterday, the Supreme Court heard oral argument in Abitron Austria GmbH v. Hetronic International, Inc. The question before the Court is when the federal trademark statute, known as the Lanham Act, applies to the use of trademarks outside the United States. The respondent, a U.S. company that makes radio remote controls for heavy construction equipment,…
Continue ReadingPreview of Supreme Court Argument in Extraterritorial Trademark Case
On March 21, the U.S. Supreme Court will hear oral argument in Abitron Austria GmbH v. Hetronic International, Inc. to decide when the federal trademark statute, known as the Lanham Act, applies to the use of trademarks outside the United States. The stakes are high—not just for the parties arguing over a $90 million damages…
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