Pennsylvania new law to ban counterfeit trademarks

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Centre County District Attorney Michael Madeira says he expects the Pennsylvania District Attorneys Association to work with legislators on a new law to ban counterfeit trademarks.

This comes after the state Supreme Court ruled that the law criminalizes speech protected by the First Amendment.

The cases involved a man accused of possessing boxes of counterfeit Nike sneakers and another accused of selling hats bearing the Penn State logo outside the university's football stadium.

Justice Max Baer says the Legislature probably meant to ban only to bar the unauthorized use of trademarks for profit. But he says it's written so broadly that if the law were upheld, he could be prosecuted for using the words "Nike" and "Penn State" in court papers.

A dissenting justice says the Legislature's "clumsy grammar" shouldn't be the basis for overturning the law whose intent is clear.