Trademark law is an important form of protection for the fashion and beauty industry. It protects both brand owners and consumers by regulating the registration of brands, or source identifiers, of fashion and beauty...more
7/25/2017
/ Disparagement ,
Fashion Branding ,
Fashion Industry ,
First Amendment ,
Free Speech ,
Government Speech Doctrine ,
Lanham Act ,
Matal v Tam ,
Redskins ,
SCOTUS ,
Trademark Registration ,
Trademarks
Over the last year, there have been some significant trademark and copyright cases in the fashion industry. Below are summaries of recent cases all brand owners should know and understand. These cases touch on important...more
6/9/2017
/ Brand ,
Copyright ,
Copyright Infringement ,
Copyrightable Subject Matter ,
Disparagement ,
Fashion Branding ,
Fashion Industry ,
First Amendment ,
International Trade Commission (ITC) ,
Lee v Tam ,
Louis Vuitton ,
Paintings Sculptures and Engravings ,
Parody ,
Punitive Damages ,
SCOTUS ,
Secondary Meaning ,
Star Athletica v Varsity Brands ,
Tiffany and Company ,
Trade Dress ,
Trademark Infringement ,
Trademark Registration ,
Trademark Trial and Appeal Board ,
Trademarks ,
Uniforms
The U.S. Supreme Court issued their opinion on Star Athletica v. Varsity Brands on Wednesday, March 22. Should fashion designers rejoice or be fearful? That depends. Designers who repeatedly have original fashion designs...more
3/30/2017
/ Cheerleaders ,
Copyright ,
Copyright Infringement ,
Copyrightable Subject Matter ,
Fashion Design ,
Fashion Industry ,
Graphic Designs ,
SCOTUS ,
Section 101 ,
Separability ,
Sports Apparel ,
Star Athletica v Varsity Brands ,
The Copyright Act ,
Uniforms ,
Utilitarian Function
In 2011, Apple sued Samsung alleging among other things that various portions of Samsung smartphone products infringed claims of certain design patents owned by Apple (Apple Inc. v. Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd.). In 2012,...more
2/11/2017
/ Appeals ,
Apple v Samsung ,
Article of Manufacture ,
Calculation of Damages ,
Cell Phones ,
Component Parts Doctrine ,
Damages ,
Design Patent ,
Fashion Industry ,
Patent Infringement ,
Patents ,
SCOTUS ,
Smartphones
On January 18, 2017, the Supreme Court heard oral arguments regarding whether the Lanham Act’s provision refusing federal trademark registration to disparaging marks is invalid under the Free Speech Clause of the First...more
2/10/2017
/ Appeals ,
Disparagement ,
Fashion Industry ,
First Amendment ,
Free Speech ,
Lanham Act ,
Lee v Tam ,
SCOTUS ,
Trademark Registration ,
Trademarks ,
USPTO