A burger brouhaha involving the Lanham Act is well underway in the Wolverine state. Plaintiff In-N-Out Burgers operates hundreds of fast food joints in the West. Defendant Doll n’ Burger recently opened two locations in...more
There are two sure-fire ways to maximize the chances that a consumer survey gets bounced out of federal court: (1) surveying the wrong people; and (2) leading them to a desired “correct” answer. Both of these survey maladies...more
Survey evidence in Lanham Act cases can often times be pretty revealing. If you develop it correctly, survey evidence can be a key ingredient to a successful outcome. But if you develop it incorrectly it will show flaws that...more
Consumer surveys. Love ’em or hate ’em, they are an evidentiary staple in many Lanham Act disputes. A well designed and executed survey can bolster your case, or can act as a powerful antidote to counteract your opponent’s....more
Jägermeister: it’s no longer for “pukey frat guys.” Or, at least according to Jägermeister’s recent adversary, that was the sordid reputation Jägermeister wanted to shed in a PR blitz launched in 2016....more
Love him or hate him, everyone agrees that NFL Quarterback Tom Brady is terrific, except the USPTO. Earlier this year, Mr. Brady’s company filed to register the trademark “Tom Terrific” for t-shirts and various other...more
On Friday, while some of us may have been muttering a few bad words as we slogged through our post-holiday inboxes, the Supreme Court was toying with a naughty word of its own: FUCT. That’s right. Late last week the Court...more
You know of this lawsuit, we’ve blogged on it twice, It’s time for a check-in, to see who’s naughty and nice.
The Plaintiff as you know is the heir of Dr. Seuss, And fussing and fuming about an alleged unfair use....more
In trademark infringement cases, consumer survey evidence can be a powerful tool. It can also badly malfunction, as Black & Decker recently experienced. ...more
As the sun set on 2016, the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals in Sunearth, Inc. v. Sun Earth Solar Power, Co. embraced a new standard for awarding attorneys’ fees in Lanham Act cases. Adopting the U.S. Supreme Court’s rationale...more
In a previous post we discussed what SpongeBob SquarePants can teach us about trademark licensing. Now, more IP lessons are bubbling up from the fathoms below thanks to our absorbent, yellow and porous friend. ...more
1/13/2017
/ Dilution ,
IP License ,
Lanham Act ,
Nickelodeon ,
Secondary Meaning ,
Service Marks ,
Summary Judgment ,
Trademark Infringement ,
Trademarks ,
Viacom ,
Young Lawyers
In the immortal words of the most recent Nobel Laureate in literature, “the times they are a changin.’” Section 35(a) of the Lanham Act provides that “[t]he court in exceptional cases may award reasonable attorney fees to...more
11/1/2016
/ Abuse of Discretion ,
Attorney's Fees ,
Corporate Counsel ,
De Novo Standard of Review ,
Exceptional Case ,
Fee-Shifting ,
Highmark v. Allcare ,
Lanham Act ,
Octane Fitness v. ICON ,
Patent Infringement ,
Popular ,
Prevailing Party ,
Young Lawyers
It’s been almost 30 years since we were introduced to bad boy dance instructor Johnny Castle (Patrick Swayze) and sweet daddy’s girl Frances “Baby” Houseman (Jennifer Grey). This star-crossed duo shimmied their way to...more
Baseball parks and hot dogs are staples of Americana. So, it is no surprise that both were recently on display in a Lanham Act dispute in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. The court’s...more
The prospect of recovering attorneys’ fees after notching a victory under the Lanham Act just got a bit rosier–at least if you find yourself prevailing in the 5th Circuit. The Lanham Act allows the recovery of attorneys’...more
As we noted here last week, the Director of the USPTO filed a petition for writ of certiorari to the U.S. Supreme Court requesting that it review the Federal Circuit’s en banc decision, In re Tam. That decision held Section...more
4/26/2016
/ Disparagement ,
First Amendment ,
Free Speech ,
Lanham Act ,
Petition for Writ of Certiorari ,
Redskins ,
SCOTUS ,
The Slants ,
Trademark Cancellation ,
Trademark Litigation ,
Trademark Registration ,
USPTO
On April 20, 2016, the USPTO made it official: It formally requested the U.S. Supreme Court to review the en banc Federal Circuit decision that held Section 2(a) of the Lanham Act violated the First Amendment.
At issue...more
Late last year, Simon Tam and his legal team scored a big-time victory: they convinced the U.S. Federal Circuit Court of Appeals (sitting en banc) that Section 2(a) of the Lanham Act violated the First Amendment. The Court...more
With Super Bowl 50 quickly approaching, it’s a perfect excuse to check in on one of the IP issues that made big waves at last year’s “Big Game.” You may recall that the Super Bowl halftime show last year featured Katy Perry...more
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit has just gone where no other court has gone before. In a tour-de-force judicial opinion, the Court emphatically held that a small sliver of the Lanham Act—the “disparaging...more
A little over 30 years ago, Bruce Springsteen unleashed “Born in the USA”–the rock anthem about disaffected Vietnam veterans struggling as they returned home. Today, clothing manufacturers and their resellers riffing on that...more
As we enter the Thanksgiving and holiday season this year, it is particularly apropos to ponder the following question: Is the TTAB going nuts? Congress tells us that the PTO cannot register trademarks that are scandalous...more