In March 2019, Cologne & Cognac Entertainment of New Jersey filed a trademark application at the USPTO for recordings featuring music and artistic performances, music composition services, production of musical videos in the...more
40 years ago, I was the new kid in 6th grade – truly a terrible age in a young girl’s life to try and “fit in” at a new elementary school in a small town. But, one of my best memories from that year was procuring my first...more
2/8/2024
/ Advertising ,
Appeals ,
Artists ,
Cease and Desist ,
Fashion Design ,
First Amendment ,
Jack Daniels Properties Inc v VIP Products LLC ,
Lanham Act ,
Likelihood of Confusion ,
Marketing ,
Music ,
Parody ,
Rogers Test ,
Trade Dress ,
Trademark Infringement ,
Trademark Litigation ,
Trademarks
Established through the Charter of the French Language, French is the official language of the Province of Québec. The Charter applies to businesses located in Québec and to other businesses providing services and selling...more
When Journey was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2017, Steve Perry was ranked 76th on Rolling Stone’s “100 Greatest Singers of All Time.” Arguably, many Journey fans view the front man and his voice as the...more
2/21/2023
/ Affirmative Defenses ,
Artists ,
Consent ,
Exclusive Licenses ,
IP License ,
Music ,
Music Industry ,
Trademark Cancellation ,
Trademark Litigation ,
Trademark Registration ,
Trademarks
We reported here last summer the outcome of Coca-Cola Company’s petitions to cancel the registrations for the above-captioned marks owned by Meenaxi Enterprise, Inc. Meenaxi appealed the TTAB’s decision to cancel the...more
We previously reported on the Marcus Gray, et al. (“Gray”) v. Katheryn Hudson, et al. (“Perry”) case on August 2nd and August 15th of 2019.
When we initially reported the details of this case, Gray was awarded damages to...more
Coca-Cola Company has a rich history and well-established global brand in its products originating in the U.S. It has also purchased and invested in the development of other brands and distribution of beverage products...more
As we wrote in Parts I and II in this series, the Trademark Modernization Act of 2020 (“TMA”) was signed into law on December 27, 2020, containing several significant amendments to the Lanham Act. This post will cover two of...more
Veronica Morales, a wedding/event planner providing services under the trademark BLUE IVY, has unsuccessfully challenged a pending application for the mark BLUE IVY CARTER, filed by BGK Trademark Holdings, LLC (Beyoncé...more
The Supreme Court handed down its decision, affirming that BOOKING.COM is a protectable and registrable trademark for “hotel reservation services,” and rejecting the premise that a generic.com term is ineligible for trademark...more
7/1/2020
/ Acquired Distinctiveness ,
Appeals ,
Booking.com ,
Domain Name Registration ,
Domain Names ,
Generic Marks ,
Lanham Act ,
SCOTUS ,
Trademark Registration ,
Trademarks ,
USPTO
On April 8, 2020, the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit issued a decision on an appeal from the refusal of registration of a color trademark by the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board. In this case, the applicant, Forney...more
When I was a kid, we anxiously awaited Christmas Eve, with the exception of traditional lutefisk dinner. If you too have ingested lutefisk, you may agree that it is unpalatable. My Dad’s now family-famous quip was “just put...more
The decision and damages awarded to Marcus Gray, Emanuel Lambert, and Chike Ojukwu in the Katy Perry “Dark Horse” copyright infringement case last week have the attention of the music industry. We provided some commentary...more
Recently, the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit vacated and remanded to the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board a decision on an ex parte appeal regarding a likelihood of confusion between the applicant’s mark GUILD...more
A trademark will be deemed abandoned under Section 1127 of the Lanham Act when the mark’s use has been discontinued “with intent not to resume such use.” Proof of non-use for three consecutive years will give rise to a...more
In January 2015, Pitney Bowes filed an intent-to-use trademark application for the logo shown here for use with mailing services, including postal delivery, parcel delivery, and delivery of mail to post offices for posting...more
We recently wrote about the decision in the federal district court for the Eastern District of Virginia, which overturned in part the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board’s decision that the mark “Booking.com” is not registrable...more
A recent decision out of the federal district court for the Eastern District of Virginia overturned in part the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board’s decision that the mark “Booking.com” is not registrable on the basis that the...more
Assignment of an intent-to-use trademark application can be fraught with risk. To deter “trafficking” in ITU applications, Section 10 of the Lanham Act prohibits the assignment of an ITU application before an amendment to...more
The potential defensive value of a registration on the Supplemental Register is highlighted in a recent opinion of the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board, In re Morinaga Nyugyo Kabushiki Kaisha. While we often think of...more
In 2006, Terry Gene Bollea, better known as “Hulk Hogan,” had sex with his best friend’s wife, Heather Clem. Apparently unbeknownst to either of them, his best friend Todd Alan Clem, now legally known as “Bubba the Love...more
3/28/2016
/ Compensatory Damages ,
Ethics ,
First Amendment ,
Free Speech ,
Gawker ,
Hulk Hogan ,
Invasion of Privacy ,
Journalists ,
Online Videos ,
Punitive Damages ,
Right of Publicity ,
Video Privacy ,
Video Recordings