In a closely watched trademark infringement case, the Supreme Court of the United States held that when an alleged infringer uses a trademark as a source identifier for the infringer's own products, the First Amendment does...more
6/19/2023
/ Dilution ,
First Amendment ,
Free Speech ,
Intellectual Property Protection ,
Jack Daniels Properties Inc v VIP Products LLC ,
Likelihood of Confusion ,
Rogers Test ,
SCOTUS ,
Trademark Infringement ,
Trademark Litigation ,
Trademark Ownership ,
Trademarks
In a closely watched trademark infringement case involving non-fungible tokens ("NFTs"), a jury found that the sale of digital images of Hermès's Birkin bags as NFTs infringed and diluted Hermès's trademarks....more
2/14/2023
/ Artistic Works ,
Consumer Confusion ,
Digital Assets ,
Dilution ,
Fashion Branding ,
Fashion Design ,
Fashion Industry ,
First Amendment ,
Intellectual Property Protection ,
Investment Opportunities ,
Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs) ,
Smart Contracts ,
Trademark Infringement ,
Trademark Litigation ,
Trademarks
In Short -
The Situation: The metaverse provides new commercial opportunities for businesses to reach consumers and creates new challenges for protecting and enforcing brands in a virtual environment....more
This year kicked off with new tools to help brand owners protect and enforce their marks.
The use of a trademark in commerce is an important aspect of U.S. trademark law; however, an increasing number of trademark...more
Signed into law in July of 1946, the Lanham Act has, for 75 years, governed U.S. trademark, servicemark, and unfair competition matters. In this edition of the Jones Day Talks Women in IP series, Meredith Wilkes, Anna Raimer,...more
6/24/2021
/ Dilution ,
Domain Names ,
Intellectual Property Protection ,
Lanham Act ,
Service Marks ,
Trademark Infringement ,
Trademark Litigation ,
Trademark Modernization Act (TMA) ,
Trademarks ,
Unfair Competition ,
Willful Infringement
In this White Paper, we share observations on 2020's most significant developments in trademark law. This year, the U.S. Supreme Court penned three opinions concerning what constitutes a protectable trademark, available...more
The Situation: Changes to the Trademark Act were called for due to a Circuit split regarding the standard for injunctive relief in trademark infringement cases and an increase in fraudulent trademark applications and...more
Jones Day's Meredith Wilkes and Anna Raimer discuss 2020's most significant developments in trademark law and preview what's to come in 2021, including possible progress in Washington on the highly anticipated Trademark...more
12/10/2020
/ Acquired Distinctiveness ,
Appeals ,
Application Fees ,
Charge-Filing Preconditions ,
Claim Preclusion ,
Collateral Estoppel ,
Compensatory Awards ,
Counterfeiting ,
Defense Preclusion ,
Dilution ,
Domain Name Registration ,
Electronic Filing ,
Generic Marks ,
Issue Preclusion ,
Lanham Act ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Lucky Brand Dungarees v Marcel Fashion Group ,
Oral Argument ,
Oral Hearings ,
Registration Fees ,
Remedies ,
Res Judicata ,
Romag Fasteners v Fossil ,
SCOTUS ,
Split of Authority ,
Subsequent Litigation ,
Trade Dress ,
Trademark Application ,
Trademark Infringement ,
Trademark Litigation ,
Trademark Registration ,
Trademark Trial and Appeal Board ,
Trademarks ,
United States Patent and Trademark Office v Booking.com BV ,
USPTO ,
Websites ,
Willful Infringement
A generic.com term may be eligible for trademark protection if consumers perceive the term as a source identifier.
The combination of a generic word plus ".com" does not necessarily equal a generic term. Instead, in an 8–1...more
7/13/2020
/ Acquired Distinctiveness ,
Appeals ,
Booking.com ,
Domain Name Registration ,
Domain Names ,
Generic Marks ,
Lanham Act ,
SCOTUS ,
Trademark Registration ,
Trademarks ,
United States Patent and Trademark Office v Booking.com BV ,
USPTO
In a unanimous opinion, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in favor of jeans manufacturer, Lucky Brand Dungarees, Inc. ("Lucky"), in its protracted trademark battle with Marcel Fashions Group, Inc. ("Marcel"), holding that Lucky...more
5/19/2020
/ Claim Preclusion ,
Collateral Estoppel ,
Counterclaims ,
Defense Preclusion ,
Fashion Branding ,
Issue Preclusion ,
Lucky Brand Dungarees v Marcel Fashion Group ,
Motion to Dismiss ,
Release Agreements ,
Res Judicata ,
SCOTUS ,
Split of Authority ,
Subsequent Litigation ,
Trademark Infringement ,
Trademark Litigation ,
Trademarks
The U.S. Supreme Court unanimously held in Romag Fasteners, Inc. v. Fossil Group, Inc., Case No. 18-1233, that a plaintiff in a trademark infringement suit is not required to show willfulness to recover a defendant's profits...more
5/1/2020
/ § 1125(a) ,
§ 1125(c) ,
Appeals ,
Burden of Proof ,
Charge-Filing Preconditions ,
Compensatory Awards ,
Dilution ,
Lanham Act ,
Lost Profits ,
Remand ,
Remedies ,
Romag Fasteners v Fossil ,
SCOTUS ,
Trademark Infringement ,
Trademark Litigation ,
Trademarks ,
Vacated ,
Willful Infringement
Statistics from 2018 reveal that .03% of trademark applications were paper filed. As such, effective February 15, 2020, paper trademark filings are no longer an option. The United States Patent and Trademark Office ("USPTO")...more
2/20/2020
/ Electronic Filing ,
Email ,
New Rules ,
Trademark Application ,
Trademark Electronic Application System (TEAS) ,
Trademark Examination ,
Trademark Examination Guide ,
Trademark Ownership ,
Trademark Registration ,
Trademark Specimen ,
Trademark Trial and Appeal Board ,
Trademarks ,
USPTO
The U.S. Supreme Court's recent 9-0 decision in Peter v. NantKwest, Inc., Case No. 18-801, informs strategic cost considerations in appeals challenging adverse decisions issued by the United States Patent and Trademark Office...more
12/17/2019
/ 35 U.S.C. § 145 ,
American Rule ,
Appeals ,
Attorney's Fees ,
Civil Claims ,
Fee-Shifting ,
Lanham Act ,
Litigation Fees & Costs ,
Patent Act ,
Patent Applicants ,
Peter v NantKwest Inc ,
Prevailing Party ,
SCOTUS ,
Section 145 ,
Trademark Application ,
Trademark Trial and Appeal Board ,
Trademarks ,
USPTO
The U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling in Mission Product Holdings v. Tempnology, LLC holds interesting implications for both trademark law and bankruptcy law. Also, in Iancu v. Brunetti, the Court confirmed that trademarks cannot...more
Supreme Court rules that the Lanham Act's statutory bar against registering immoral or scandalous marks violates the First Amendment.
On June 24, 2019, in Iancu v. Brunetti, 588 U.S. __ (2019), the U.S. Supreme Court...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
A party appealing a PTO decision must pay the PT0's expenses regardless of the applicant's success.
Booking.com successfully challenged the United States Patent and Trademark Office's ("PTO") refusal to register its mark...more
The Situation: In 2014, Converse filed a complaint with the International Trade Commission ("ITC"), alleging that numerous shoe manufacturers and retailers infringed the trade dress of its signature Chuck Taylor® All Star®...more
This decision should be a welcome development for patent applicants seeking review.
On July 27, 2018, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit issued its en banc opinion in NantKwest, Inc. v. Iancu, No. 16-1794...more
8/10/2018
/ 35 U.S.C. § 145 ,
Administrative Proceedings ,
American Rule ,
Attorney's Fees ,
En Banc Review ,
Litigation Fees & Costs ,
Patent Litigation ,
Patents ,
Split of Authority ,
Statutory Interpretation ,
Trademarks ,
USPTO
The Decision: The Federal Circuit vacated the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board's determination that "ZERO" is not generic and has acquired distinctiveness, and remanded.
The Reasoning: The Board erroneously framed the...more
In a much-anticipated ruling, the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit modified a preliminary injunction entered against Skechers on May 10, 2018, in adidas America, Inc. v. Skechers USA, Inc.
The ruling...more
Trademarks will no longer be refused registration on the basis that they constitute immoral or scandalous matter. On December 15, 2017, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit unanimously ruled in In re Brunetti...more
On June 23, 2017, the Federal Circuit held in NantKwest v. Matal that patent applicants seeking review of a decision from the United States Patent and Trademark Office ("PTO") to the district court must pay the PTO's legal...more
Asian rock band The Slants is no longer "The Band Who Must Not Be Named," as they titled their most recent album. On June 19, 2017, the United States Supreme Court decided Matal v. Tam, striking a provision of the Lanham Act,...more
6/24/2017
/ Constitutional Challenges ,
Disparagement ,
First Amendment ,
Football ,
Free Speech ,
Government Speech Doctrine ,
Lanham Act ,
Matal v Tam ,
Music Industry ,
NFL ,
Popular ,
Redskins ,
SCOTUS ,
The Slants ,
Trademark Registration ,
Trademark Trial and Appeal Board ,
Trademarks ,
USPTO ,
Viewpoint Discrimination
Trademark owners take note: Affidavits to renew your U.S. trademark registrations may be getting a closer look. On March 21, 2017, the United States Patent and Trademark Office ("USPTO") implemented a new rule aimed at...more
On February 27, 2017, the Supreme Court of the United States denied certiorari in Belmora LLC v. Bayer Consumer Care AG, 819 F.3d 697 (4th Cir. 2016), cert. denied, __ S. Ct. __, 2017 WL 737826 (U.S. Feb. 27, 2017) (No....more
3/7/2017
/ Appeals ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Denial of Certiorari ,
Foreign Persons ,
International Litigation ,
Lanham Act ,
Lexmark v Static Control Components ,
Mexico ,
Proximate Cause ,
Standing ,
Trademark Registration ,
Trademark Trial and Appeal Board ,
Trademarks ,
Unfair Competition ,
Unfair or Deceptive Trade Practices