The Federal Circuit in In re JC Hospitality LLC recently affirmed the United States Patent and Trademark Office, Trademark Trial and Appeal Board’s refusal to register the service mark THE JOINT for a venue offering...more
3/11/2020
/ Acquired Distinctiveness ,
Appeals ,
Corporate Branding ,
Descriptive Trademarks ,
Generic Marks ,
Intellectual Property Protection ,
Music ,
Restaurant Industry ,
Trademark Application ,
Trademark Registration ,
Trademark Trial and Appeal Board ,
Trademarks ,
USPTO
The Federal Circuit upheld a Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (“Board”) decision refusing registration of an athletic apparel company’s trademark, holding that the trademark applicant waived its key arguments by not raising...more
9/9/2019
/ Appeals ,
Brand ,
Fashion Branding ,
Fashion Design ,
Intellectual Property Protection ,
Likelihood of Confusion ,
Motion for Reconsideration ,
Oral Argument ,
Sports Apparel ,
Trademark Application ,
Trademark Litigation ,
Trademark Trial and Appeal Board ,
Trademarks ,
Waiver of Rights
According to the Federal Circuit, the skinny on the term “Thins” is that it may be generic for thinly cut snack crackers. Real Foods Pty Ltd. V. Frito-Lay North America, Inc., (October 4, 2018 Fed. Cir.)....more
10/16/2018
/ Acquired Distinctiveness ,
Appeals ,
Descriptive Trademarks ,
Food Manufacturers ,
Frito-Lay ,
Intellectual Property Protection ,
Trademark Application ,
Trademark Infringement ,
Trademark Litigation ,
Trademark Registration ,
Trademark Trial and Appeal Board ,
Trademarks
The Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit recently extended First Amendment protections for trademark applications in In re Brunetti, No. 15-1109 (Fed. Cir. December 15, 2017), ruling that Section 2(a) of the Lanham Act’s...more
12/28/2017
/ Appeals ,
Constitutional Challenges ,
Disparagement ,
Fashion Design ,
Fashion Industry ,
First Amendment ,
Free Speech ,
Intellectual Property Protection ,
Lanham Act ,
Matal v Tam ,
Scandalous/Immoral Marks ,
Trademark Registration ,
Trademarks ,
USPTO
In a 54 page decision issued on September 6, 2017, the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (the “Board”) ended (again) a long-standing dispute between snack food makers Frito-Lay, Inc. (“Frito”) and Princeton Vanguard, LLC...more
We previously blogged on Judge Proctor’s (ND Ala.) order directing the United States Patent and Trademark Office (the “Board”) to comply with the Court’s prior order, approving a settlement agreement between the University of...more
In the most recent ruling in a lengthy and procedurally complex criminal case, a New York trial court dismissed a computer programmer’s criminal conviction under New York’s Unlawful Use of Secret Scientific Material law for...more
7/13/2015
/ Aleynikov ,
Appeals ,
Convictions ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Criminal Prosecution ,
Dismissals ,
Economic Espionage Act ,
Foreign Commerce ,
Goldman Sachs ,
High Frequency Trading ,
Source Code ,
US v Aleynikov ,
Young Lawyers