In Spireon, Inc. v. Flex Ltd., No. 2022-1578 (Fed. Cir. June 26, 2023), the Federal Circuit took a surprising turn in which it held that it is the trademark owner’s burden to prove that identical third-party marks put forth...more
The Supreme Court’s June 29, 2023, decision in Abitron Austria GMBH v. Hetronic Int’l, Inc., No. 21-1043, ended decades of circuit splits on the standard for determining the extraterritorial reach of the Lanham Act (see our...more
7/14/2023
/ Abitron Austria GmbH v Hetronic International Inc ,
Extraterritoriality Rules ,
Foreign Jurisdictions ,
Foreign Sales ,
Intellectual Property Litigation ,
Intellectual Property Protection ,
International Trademark Protection ,
Lanham Act ,
SCOTUS ,
Trademark Infringement ,
Trademark Litigation ,
Trademarks ,
Use in Commerce
On June 8, 2023, the United States Supreme Court published its long-awaited decision in Jack Daniel’s Properties Inc. v. VIP Products LLC—a trademark dispute between whiskey maker Jack Daniel’s and VIP Products, the...more
In an interesting twist, the Ninth Circuit granted summary judgment to a defendant in a trademark infringement case in Lodestar v. Bacardi on April 21, 2022. Given the Ninth Circuit’s common refrain that “summary judgment is...more
On February 24, 2022, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, in In Re: Elster, overturned the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board’s (TTAB) refusal to grant a trademark registration on the phrase “TRUMP TOO SMALL” for...more
On June 24, 2019, the U.S. Supreme Court, in Iancu v. Brunetti, struck down the Lanham Act’s prohibition on the registration of “immoral” or “scandalous” trademarks. Justice Kagan wrote for the 6-3 majority, holding that the...more
8/25/2019
/ Constitutional Challenges ,
First Amendment ,
Free Speech ,
Iancu v. Brunetti ,
Lanham Act ,
Matal v Tam ,
Scandalous/Immoral Marks ,
SCOTUS ,
Trademark Registration ,
Trademarks ,
USPTO ,
Viewpoint Discrimination
In This Issue -
A Looming AI War: Transparency v. IP Rights -
As artificial intelligence systems become more prevalent in daily life, efforts to create a unifying set of AI principles have intensified. In the past few...more
8/21/2019
/ Artificial Intelligence ,
Attorney's Fees ,
Bayh-Dole Act ,
Copyright ,
Copyright Infringement ,
Copyright Litigation ,
Defend Trade Secrets Act (DTSA) ,
Federal Funding ,
First Amendment ,
Free Speech ,
Iancu v. Brunetti ,
Intellectual Property Litigation ,
Intellectual Property Protection ,
Inventions ,
Lanham Act ,
Litigation Fees & Costs ,
Patent Applications ,
Patent Infringement ,
Patent Reform ,
Patent-Eligible Subject Matter ,
Patents ,
Scandalous/Immoral Marks ,
Trademarks
A petition for writ of certiorari pending before the U.S. Supreme Court asks the Court to decide whether a plaintiff must prove willful infringement to obtain an award of a trademark infringer’s profits for a violation of 15...more
5/16/2019
/ Appeals ,
Calculation of Damages ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Damages ,
Fashion Design ,
Patent Infringement ,
Patent Litigation ,
Patents ,
Petition for Writ of Certiorari ,
Profits ,
Remand ,
Romag Fasteners v Fossil ,
SCOTUS ,
Split of Authority ,
Trademark Infringement ,
Trademark Litigation ,
Trademarks ,
Willful Infringement
Avoiding the Top 5 Potholes for Autonomous Transportation Startups -
Autonomous transportation technology was widespread at the 2019 Consumer Electronics Show. Advances in object identification, mapping, machine learning,...more
5/10/2019
/ Automotive Industry ,
CARU ,
Confidential Information ,
Connected Cars ,
COPPA ,
Copyright ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Driverless Cars ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) ,
Intellectual Property Protection ,
Manufacturers ,
Petition for Writ of Certiorari ,
Popular ,
Proposed Amendments ,
Startups ,
Technology Sector ,
Trade Secrets ,
Trademarks ,
UK ,
USPTO
The Central District Court of California has held that the First and Eighth Amendments protect the trademark-registered emblems of the Mongol Nation motorcycle club from forfeiture. ...more
For the first time since it began balancing the competing interests of trademark plaintiffs and creators of expressive works, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit held this month in Gordon v. Drape Creative that...more
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
11/30/2017
/ Appeals ,
Arrangement and Promotion ,
Artistic Works ,
Commercial Use ,
First Amendment ,
Gaming ,
Intellectual Property Protection ,
Music Industry ,
Summary Judgment ,
Television Shows ,
Trademark Infringement ,
Trademark Litigation ,
Trademarks ,
Twentieth Century Fox ,
Video Games
Despite being short one justice for much of the year, the U.S. Supreme Court handed down multiple significant decisions this past term that can unsettle long-standing legal understandings in multiple technology fields. These...more
8/10/2017
/ Bristol-Myers Squibb Co v Superior Court of California - San Francisco County ,
Class Action ,
Class Certification ,
Disparagement ,
Extraterritoriality Rules ,
First Amendment ,
Free Speech ,
Impression Products v Lexmark International ,
Jurisdiction ,
Laches ,
Lanham Act ,
Matal v Tam ,
Microsoft v Baker ,
Music Industry ,
Online Platforms ,
Patent Exhaustion ,
Patent Infringement ,
Patents ,
Petrella v. MGM ,
SCOTUS ,
Social Networks ,
Star Athletica v Varsity Brands ,
TC Heartland LLC v Kraft Foods ,
The Slants ,
Trademark Registration ,
Trademarks ,
Venue
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit reaffirmed its commitment to the rule that willfulness is a prerequisite for disgorgement of a trademark infringer’s profits in Stone Creek v. Omnia Italian Design, Case No....more
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit clarified the requirements for pleading and establishing a trademark infringement claim under a “reverse confusion” theory in Marketquest Group v. BIC, Case No. 15-55755 (9th...more
After a streak of six patent decisions uniformly overruling the Federal Circuit, and for the first time all term, the Supreme Court finally handed the Federal Circuit a win this week. In its landmark ruling in Matal v. Tam...more
6/22/2017
/ Disparagement ,
First Amendment ,
Football ,
Free Speech ,
Lanham Act ,
Matal v Tam ,
Music Industry ,
NFL ,
Redskins ,
SCOTUS ,
Team Mascots ,
The Slants ,
Trademark Registration ,
Trademarks ,
USPTO
A Smooth Patch in a Rough Road? Governmental Transition and Intellectual Property -
Whenever a new Congress convenes, some IP issues come to the fore while others take a back seat. Transition to a new administration in the...more
2/10/2017
/ Administrative Appointments ,
America Invents Act ,
Appeals ,
Article III ,
Barack Obama ,
Cheerleaders ,
Copyright ,
Copyright Infringement ,
Copyright Office ,
Data Breach ,
Denial of Certiorari ,
Disparagement ,
DMCA ,
Exclusive Licenses ,
Fashion Design ,
FDCPA ,
File Sharing ,
First Amendment ,
Free Speech ,
Google ,
Injury-in-Fact ,
Intellectual Property Protection ,
Inter Partes Review (IPR) Proceeding ,
International Trade Commission (ITC) ,
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) ,
IP License ,
Lanham Act ,
Lee v Tam ,
Lenz v Universal Music Corp. ,
Misappropriation ,
Non-Appealable Decisions ,
Non-Practicing Entities ,
Online Videos ,
Oracle ,
Patent Trial and Appeal Board ,
Patents ,
Petition for Writ of Certiorari ,
Popular ,
Privacy Laws ,
SCOTUS ,
Section 337 ,
Software Developers ,
Spokeo v Robins ,
Standing ,
Star Athletica v Varsity Brands ,
Takedown Notices ,
Tariff Act of 1930 ,
Trade Secrets ,
Trademark Registration ,
Trademarks ,
Trans-Pacific Partnership ,
Trump Administration ,
Uniforms ,
USPTO ,
YouTube
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit recently affirmed the Southern District of New York’s order on summary judgment that My Other Bag’s canvas tote bags do not dilute or infringe Louis Vuitton’s trademarks for...more
12/28/2016
/ Appeals ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Fashion Branding ,
Fashion Industry ,
Intellectual Property Protection ,
Lanham Act ,
Louis Vuitton ,
Parody ,
Summary Judgment ,
Trademark Infringement ,
Trademark Litigation ,
Trademarks ,
Young Lawyers
In a dilution claim, a trademark owner asserts that their famous mark is entitled to protection from use that causes harm to the mark’s reputation or distinctiveness. In effect, the trademark owner is saying that the mark is...more
You’ve selected a unique trademark, marketed and sold products under the brand, and continue to build up a base of satisfied customers. But then a new company emerges with a very similar trademark, piggybacking on your...more
11/22/2016
/ Brand ,
Consumer Confusion ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Intellectual Property Protection ,
Internet ,
Keyword Search ,
Likelihood of Confusion ,
Online Commentary ,
Online Platforms ,
Popular ,
Search Terms ,
Trademark Infringement ,
Trademarks ,
Young Lawyers
On September 29, 2016, the Supreme Court agreed to review Lee v. Tam, better known as “THE SLANTS” case, to assess the constitutionality of the Trademark Office’s refusal to register disparaging marks under Section 2(a) of...more
10/28/2016
/ Certiorari ,
Constitutional Challenges ,
Disparagement ,
First Amendment ,
Free Speech ,
Lanham Act ,
Lee v Tam ,
SCOTUS ,
The Slants ,
Trademark Registration ,
Trademark Trial and Appeal Board ,
Trademarks ,
Vagueness
On October 24, 2016, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit after an en banc rehearing in Sunearth, Inc. v. Sun Earth Solar Power Co., LTD., adopted the Octane Fitness standard for determining whether a case is...more
10/26/2016
/ Abuse of Discretion ,
Appeals ,
Attorney's Fees ,
Exceptional Case ,
Lanham Act ,
Octane Fitness v. ICON ,
Popular ,
Preponderance of the Evidence ,
Prevailing Party ,
Standard of Review ,
Totality of Circumstances Test ,
Trademark Infringement ,
Trademarks
Late last week, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit determined a court had jurisdiction to decide a trademark lawsuit filed by a U.S. grocery store against a Canadian reseller where the products at issue were only...more
8/31/2016
/ Appeals ,
Canada ,
Comity ,
Dismissals ,
Extraterritoriality Rules ,
Grocery Stores ,
International Litigation ,
Lanham Act ,
Reputational Injury ,
Reversal ,
Subject Matter Jurisdiction ,
Trade Dress ,
Trademark Infringement ,
Trademarks ,
Trader Joes ,
Unfair Competition ,
Use in Commerce
California’s Eraser Law: What IP Attorneys and Owners Need to Know -
Hector recently graduated from UC Berkeley and is anxious about his upcoming job interview. He is about to enter the adult world. But he has also got...more
6/23/2015
/ Abstract Ideas ,
Attorney's Fees ,
Bad Faith ,
Claim Construction ,
COPPA ,
Copyright Office ,
DMCA ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Facebook ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Induced Infringement ,
Laches ,
Minor Eraser Law ,
Misappropriation ,
Patents ,
Recruitment Incentives ,
Rulemaking Process ,
Section 101 ,
Social Media ,
Social Networks ,
Software ,
Takedown Notices ,
Trade Secrets ,
Trademarks ,
Twitter
Copyrighting Player-Generated Content in Video Games -
Last year, consumers spent more than $21 billion on the video game industry. The Entertainment Software Association reports that almost 60% of Americans—roughly...more
4/6/2015
/ Claim Construction ,
Clear Error Standard ,
Copyright ,
Costco ,
Entertainment Industry ,
Film Industry ,
Hana Financial v Hana Bank ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Patents ,
Pharmaceutical Patents ,
Tacking ,
Teva Pharmaceuticals ,
Teva v Sandoz ,
The Copyright Act ,
Trade Secrets ,
Trademarks ,
Video Games