Trademarks, Commercial Use

Trademark Fundamentals: What Is a Trademark?

Pillsbury - Propel on 7/31/2024

For startups venturing into competitive business landscapes, protecting your brand is not just an option—it’s a necessity. One of the most effective ways to protect the investment you make in building your brand identity is...more

Industrial Design in the Spotlight: Key Takeaways in Brazil

Mayer Brown on 12/6/2023

Investing in the creation of industrial designs is critical in modern business practice, as it allows a company’s product to stand out in an increasingly competitive market dynamic. Just as important as creating distinctive...more

Supreme Court Rules in Favor of Commercial Use Over Dog Toy Parody in Trademark Case

Amundsen Davis LLC on 6/12/2023

On June 8, 2023, in a unanimous decision, the Supreme Court of the United States found in favor of Jack Daniel’s in deciding that a whiskey bottle-inspired dog toy, “Bad Spaniels,” used Jack Daniel’s trademarks in a...more

Image-Generating AI: Trends and Legal Challenges

Holland & Knight LLP on 12/16/2022

Like human intelligence, artificial intelligence (AI) can recognize patterns, predict outcomes, analyze complex problems and even equalize – or surpass – human creativity. Tech-generated innovative and creative processes are...more

Just Because It’s On the Internet Doesn’t Mean It’s In the Public Domain

Whitman Legal Solutions, LLC on 8/8/2022

Just Because it’s Published Doesn’t Mean it’s in the Public Domain - Some people think that if something is on the Internet, it’s in the public domain and is fair game to be copied. Not true! Giving the public access to an...more

Social Media Influencers Beware!

Saiber LLC on 12/29/2021

In Petunia Products, Inc. v. Rodan & Fields, LLC and Molly Sims, the United States District Court for the Central District of California held that a social media influencer - a person “presumed to have the power to affect the...more

The Ghosts of Past Licensing Agreements Continue to Haunt Ms. Pac-Man

Dorsey & Whitney LLP on 11/6/2019

1980 was a momentous year. Not only was it the year in which the Rubik’s Cube was first released, it was also when approximately 350 million people worldwide finally learned who shot J.R. on TV’s “Dallas” (spoiler alert: it...more

Was Missguided Misguided? Kim Kardashian West Obtains $2.7 Million Judgment in Right of Publicity and Trademark Suit

International Lawyers Network on 9/19/2019

A federal district court in California has awarded a $2.7-million default judgment to Kim Kardashian West in her lawsuit against a fast fashion online retailer that allegedly used her persona and likeness to sell its...more

Descendants of Danish well-known scientist could not prevent the use of his name by a large Danish based stated-owned energy...

International Lawyers Network on 5/16/2019

The descendants of a well-known Danish scientist could not prevent the commercial use of the name ØRSTED as a trademark, domain and company name by the Ørsted Group (former Dong Energy A/S)....more

Intellectual Property Bulletin - Winter 2019

Fenwick & West LLP on 1/18/2019

Deregulation is the New Buzzword in Washington — Except in the Tech Industry - The past year has been a volatile one, from trade wars to the government shutdown to a stock market dive. One constant that U.S. businesses have...more

January 2019 IP Update - Big Changes to Canada’s Trademark Laws

Sunstein LLP on 1/16/2019

Canada plans to implement major changes to its trademark laws on June 17, 2019. The changes are designed to modernize the current system and bring Canada’s quirky practices into greater international alignment. We provide an...more

Trademarking a Sound: The First Sound Trademark granted through a Judicial Proceeding in China

Dechert LLP on 12/27/2018

The Beijing High Court recently made a final judgement in favor of Tencent, finding that the notification beeping sound of the digital company’s instant-messaging and social network services is distinctive enough to be...more

Gidget Goes Abandoned (the trademark registrations, that is)

Dorsey & Whitney LLP on 5/15/2018

May 7 was no day at the beach for Multi-Media Tech. Ventures, Ltd., whose registrations for the mark GIDGET were cancelled in a precedential opinion by the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board. Yazhong Investing, Ltd. v....more

Has the dust settled on OEM trademark infringement? China’s SPC reaffirms that OEM does not infringe on Chinese trademarks

Hogan Lovells on 4/19/2018

In a recent landmark decision, the Supreme People’s Court (“SPC”) reversed the remarkable appeal decision in the Dongfeng trademark case about Original Equipment Manufacture (“OEM”). The SPC reiterates its view expressed in...more

EC draft withdrawal agreement: IP rights

Dechert LLP on 3/14/2018

The European Commission has produced a draft withdrawal agreement (the “Agreement”) chartering the path of the UK’s withdrawal from the EU. In the coming weeks, the Council of the European Union and the Brexit Steering Group...more

Caution: Olympic Marks Ahead Staying In-bounds with the U.S. Olympic Comittee

Sterne, Kessler, Goldstein & Fox P.L.L.C. on 2/14/2018

Beginning February 9th, the eyes of those interested in athletic endeavor and spectacle will turn to Pyeong Chang for the 2018 Winter Olympic Games. As a brand owner, it is tempting to get caught up in and exploit the...more

Europe: Double victory for Coca-Cola – General Court stops free-riding from outside EU

Hogan Lovells on 12/21/2017

Judgment of 7 December 2017 in Case T-61/16 – The Coca-Cola Company v. EUIPO / Modern Industrial & Trading Investment Co. Ltd (Mitico)) - The General Court confirms that actual commercial use of an EUTM application can...more

Good News for Game Developers: Court Extends Protections for Using Others’ Trademarks in the Advertising of Artistic Works

Fenwick & West LLP on 11/30/2017

In a move that will likely benefit game developers, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit explicitly held that First Amendment protection extends to use of third-party trademarks in the commercial promotion of an...more

Trademarks › Commercial Use