'Gray Market' Lawyer: Congress Won't Change Copyright Laws
One of the biggest frustrations for brand owners is seeing their products sold through unauthorized distribution channels such as on the Amazon Marketplace. Carefully controlled brand experiences and minimum advertised...more
COVID-19 has impacted almost every aspect of society—our lives, our jobs, and our businesses. In addition to dominating decisions relating to consumer spending and purchasing, COVID-19 has created surpluses of goods,...more
Under the first sale doctrine, once a trademark owner first authorizes its branded product to be sold to a consumer, the trademark owner’s right to control the further re-sale of that product is generally said to be...more
We recently hosted an event at the firm where we discussed legal issues concerning parallel imports in the transportation industry, so a recent decision by the U.S. Court of International Trade discussing “Lever Rule”...more
In a recent post, we discussed the lawsuit brought by battery behemoth Duracell against a company that it was importing “gray market” versions of its copper-topped products. In that action, Duracell has argued that the...more
In a recently filed complaint, battery giant Duracell brought Lanham Act claims against wholesaler JRS Ventures, Inc. (JRS) for importing and reselling batteries bearing the Duracell’s iconic “copper top” mark....more
On November 3, 2016, the US Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit approved an injunction against about 200 importers and sellers preventing them from importing and selling gray market blood-glucose test strips. The case was...more
The internet has become a dominant marketplace for consumer products and services. Historically, high capital costs of warehouse and storefront facilities tended to discourage unauthorized resellers from becoming a...more
We frequently see companies affected by gray market imports and diverted sales. The gray market is caused by opportunistic importers who purchase a company’s products abroad and import them into the U.S. without...more
When we decided to mark the passing of Justice Antonin Scalia by recounting a few of his copyright and trademark opinions, we were somewhat surprised to discover that there really hadn’t been that many. In fact, we located...more
In a short majority opinion, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit concluded that once a copyright claimant conceded that it authorized a first sale of the watches in a foreign jurisdiction, the first sale doctrine...more
On January 14, 2015, Patterson Companies, LLC, announced that it is formalizing its efforts to shore up its supply chain integrity for its dental customers. The program will assure that dental products that Patterson Dental...more
The Chinese economy has changed dramatically in the past two, five, and even 20 years, but its intellectual property (IP) laws have only very recently developed to somewhat better deal with the new reality. The new Chinese...more
The Ninth Circuit recently issued a decision upholding the lower court’s finding at summary judgment that a U.S. importer of branded, gray market mushrooms infringed upon the rights of the U.S. trademark owner. Gray-market...more
On March 19, 2013, in a decision eagerly awaited by the entertainment bar,1 the United States Supreme Court, in Kirtsaeng v. John Wiley & Sons, ruled that, under the First Sale Doctrine, a person who buys lawfully made...more
In This Issue: - It’s Always Something: The Repeated Assaults on Licensee Rights in Bankruptcy - Clearance: Start Early and Avoid the Clutter - New Faces - Points from the President - The...more