In Vidal v. Elster, a unanimous Supreme Court of the United States reversed the US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit’s decision, holding that the Lanham Act’s names clause does not violate the First Amendment or...more
6/21/2024
/ Constitutional Challenges ,
Donald Trump ,
First Amendment ,
Free Speech ,
Lanham Act ,
SCOTUS ,
Trademark Application ,
Trademark Litigation ,
Trademark Registration ,
Trademark Trial and Appeal Board ,
Trademarks ,
Vidal v Elster
As 2023 draws to a close, new developments continue to emerge across the patent, trademark, copyright and trade secret spaces.
Join members of McDermott’s Intellectual Property Group for a year-end review that will explore...more
12/6/2023
/ Artificial Intelligence ,
Continuing Legal Education ,
Copyright ,
Copyright Applications ,
Copyright Infringement ,
Copyright Litigation ,
Copyright Registration ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Fair Use ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
First Amendment ,
Free Speech ,
Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) ,
Intellectual Property Litigation ,
Intellectual Property Protection ,
Non-Compete Agreements ,
Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs) ,
Patent Applications ,
Patent Infringement ,
Patent Litigation ,
Patent Registration ,
Patent Trial and Appeal Board ,
Patent-Eligible Subject Matter ,
Patents ,
Pharmaceutical Industry ,
Pharmaceutical Patents ,
Proposed Rules ,
Trade Secrets ,
Trademark Application ,
Trademark Infringement ,
Trademark Litigation ,
Trademark Registration ,
Trademarks ,
Unified Patent Court ,
Webinars
The Supreme Court agreed to review the US Patent & Trademark Office’s (PTO) challenge to a February 2022 ruling by the US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. In the ruling at issue, the Federal Circuit held that...more
The US Patent & Trademark Office (PTO) denied registration of several US trademark applications for the mark FUCK, even though the applicant had overcome a prohibition on the registration of “immoral or scandalous” trademarks...more
Revisiting jurisprudence touching on the Lanham Act and the First Amendment from the Supreme Court’s decisions in Matal v. Tam and Iancu v. Brunetti, the US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit held that applying Sec....more
3/10/2022
/ Appeals ,
Constitutional Challenges ,
Corporate Counsel ,
First Amendment ,
Free Speech ,
Intellectual Property Protection ,
Lanham Act ,
Matal v Tam ,
Trademark Litigation ,
Trademark Registration ,
Trademark Trial and Appeal Board ,
Trademarks
KEY TAKEAWAYS AND OUTLOOK FOR 2022 -
While Gen Z taught us all on TikTok how not to be “cheugy,” or out of touch with pop culture, similarly, trademark law in 2021 ushered in new and changed regulations, provided further...more
In a 6–3 opinion, the Supreme Court of the United States affirmed a 2017 US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit decision holding the ban on registration of immoral or scandalous trademarks under the Lanham Act to be an...more
8/5/2019
/ Appeals ,
Constitutional Challenges ,
First Amendment ,
Free Speech ,
Iancu v. Brunetti ,
Lanham Act ,
Reaffirmation ,
Reversal ,
Scandalous/Immoral Marks ,
SCOTUS ,
Trademark Registration ,
Trademarks ,
USPTO ,
Viewpoint Discrimination
A 6-3 opinion from the Supreme Court of the United States in Iancu v. Brunetti affirmed a Federal Circuit 2017 decision. Both rulings found the ban on the registration of immoral or scandalous trademarks under the Lanham Act...more
6/27/2019
/ Appeals ,
Constitutional Challenges ,
First Amendment ,
Free Speech ,
Iancu v. Brunetti ,
Lanham Act ,
Reaffirmation ,
Reversal ,
Scandalous/Immoral Marks ,
SCOTUS ,
Trademark Registration ,
Trademarks ,
USPTO ,
Viewpoint Discrimination
Following the Supreme Court of the United States’ 2017 decision in Matal v. Tam (i.e., the Slants case) finding the proscription on the registration of disparaging trademarks under § 2(a) of the Lanham Act to be an...more
2/6/2018
/ Constitutional Challenges ,
Disparagement ,
First Amendment ,
Free Speech ,
Lanham Act ,
Matal v Tam ,
SCOTUS ,
The Slants ,
Trademark Registration ,
Trademark Trial and Appeal Board ,
Trademarks ,
USPTO
In relation to a long-fought and contentious trademark dispute involving the COMIC CON mark, the US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit issued a brief but definitive opinion, finding that certain district-court-ordered...more
In an 8–0 decision, the Supreme Court of the United States affirmed an en banc panel of the US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit and found the disparagement clause of the Lanham Act to be facially unconstitutional...more
7/11/2017
/ Constitutional Challenges ,
Disparagement ,
First Amendment ,
Free Speech ,
Lanham Act ,
Matal v Tam ,
Music Industry ,
SCOTUS ,
The Slants ,
Trademark Registration ,
Trademark Trial and Appeal Board ,
Trademarks ,
USPTO
A unanimous decision from the Supreme Court of the United States in Matal v. Tam affirmed an en banc panel of the Federal Circuit and found the disparagement clause of the Lanham Act to be facially unconstitutional under the...more
6/22/2017
/ Constitutional Challenges ,
Disparagement ,
First Amendment ,
Free Speech ,
Lanham Act ,
Matal v Tam ,
SCOTUS ,
The Slants ,
Trademark Registration ,
Trademark Trial and Appeal Board ,
Trademarks ,
USPTO
In a lawsuit involving the 2010 Oscar-winning film The Hurt Locker, the US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit held that right of publicity claims arising from expressive works, including films, are in essence...more
In the last several decades, the disparagement provision of § 2(a) of the Lanham Act has become a more frequent basis for rejection or cancellation of trademarks by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (PTO) and the...more
In the last several decades, the disparagement provision of § 2(a) of the Lanham Act has become a more frequent basis for rejection or cancellation of trademarks by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) and...more
Overturning a hotly debated district court decision, in a case involving numerous amicus curiae briefs, the en banc Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit affirmed a district court’s denial of a motion for a preliminary...more
7/10/2015
/ Appeals ,
Copyright ,
Copyright Infringement ,
Copyrightable Subject Matter ,
Emotional Distress Damages ,
First Amendment ,
Google ,
Irreparable Harm ,
Preliminary Injunctions ,
Prior Restraint ,
The Copyright Act ,
YouTube
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit issued a sua sponte order vacating its April 20, 2015, decision in In re Tam to consider the constitutionality of Section 2(a) of the Lanham Act, which provides that the U. S....more
Mil-Spec Monkey, Inc. v. Activision Blizzard, Inc. et al. -
Confirming that video games, including customizable multi-player games, qualify as expressive works entitled to First Amendment protection, a California...more
Patents / Patent Eligible Subject Matter -
Supreme Court to Myriad: Isolated DNA Sequences Are Not Patent-Eligible Subject Matter --
AMP et al. v. Myriad Genetics, Inc.:
In a 9–0 decision the Supreme...more
6/27/2013
/ Abuse of Discretion ,
AMP v Myriad ,
Burden of Proof ,
Copyright ,
Damages ,
DNA ,
False Advertising ,
First Amendment ,
Human Genes ,
Infringement ,
Lanham Act ,
Myriad ,
Oprah Winfrey ,
Patent Terms ,
Patent-Eligible Subject Matter ,
Patents ,
Permanent Injunctions ,
SCOTUS ,
Time Warner ,
Trade Secrets ,
Trademarks ,
USPTO ,
Willful Infringement