American musician and rapper Lizzo recently scored a victory in the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (the “Board”), reversing the Trademark Office’s refusal to register the “100% THAT BITCH” mark for “clothing, namely,...more
The European Union Trademark (EUTM) is possibly the most widely used vehicle worldwide to protect trademark rights. As the possibility of a so-called “no deal” Brexit becomes ever more likely, many of our clients wonder what...more
8 Ways To Avoid Inter Partes Review Estoppel -
Inter partes review has become an enormously popular method of challenging patents. One important downside of filing for IPR, however, is that, if the petitioner loses, it...more
Applicants and registrants of trademarks are inundated with offers to perform potentially unnecessary services. These solicitations often come in the form of invoices, with prominent and false “due dates.” Other times, they...more
Supreme Court Hits Reset on Patent Venue Law in TC Heartland -
In the recent TC Heartland LLC v. Kraft Foods Group Brands LLC decision, the Supreme Court reversed nearly thirty years of patent venue law and held that a...more
7/20/2017
/ Disparagement ,
First Amendment ,
Forum Shopping ,
Free Speech ,
Patent Exhaustion ,
Patent Infringement ,
Patent Litigation ,
Patents ,
Personal Jurisdiction ,
Principal Place of Business ,
Right of Publicity ,
SCOTUS ,
State of Incorporation ,
TC Heartland LLC v Kraft Foods ,
The Slants ,
Trademarks ,
Unified Patent Court ,
Venue
The Supreme Court today brought closure to Simon Tam’s seven-year legal journey seeking to obtain a federal trademark registration for his band name, THE SLANTS. The Court held in Matal v. Tam that the Lanham Act’s ban on...more
6/20/2017
/ Disparagement ,
First Amendment ,
Free Speech ,
Lanham Act ,
Matal v Tam ,
Music Industry ,
SCOTUS ,
The Slants ,
Trademark Registration ,
Trademarks ,
USPTO
In late December, the Second Circuit issued a ruling in Louis Vuitton Malletier, S.A., v. My Other Bag, Inc., affirming the district court’s grant of summary judgment for claims of trademark infringement and dilution of a...more
1/26/2017
/ Fashion Branding ,
Fashion Design ,
Fashion Industry ,
Intellectual Property Protection ,
Lanham Act ,
Louis Vuitton ,
Retail Market ,
Summary Judgment ,
Trade Dress ,
Trademark Infringement ,
Trademark Litigation ,
Trademarks
Supreme Court Abolished Federal Circuit's Test for Willfulness -
On June 13, 2016, in Halo Electronics, Inc. v. Pulse Electronics, Inc., 579 U.S. ___ (2016), the Supreme Court unanimously abrogated the Federal Circuit’s...more
8/13/2016
/ Abuse of Discretion ,
Appeals ,
Attorney's Fees ,
Authorship ,
Books ,
Burden of Proof ,
Collaboration ,
Copyright ,
Copyright Infringement ,
Employee Mobility ,
Enhanced Damages ,
EU ,
European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO) ,
European Union Trade Mark (EUTM) ,
Fee-Shifting ,
Film Industry ,
Halo v Pulse ,
Harmonization Rules ,
Kirtsaeng v. John Wiley & Sons ,
Objective Unreasonableness Standard ,
Patent Infringement ,
Patents ,
Preponderance of the Evidence ,
Prevailing Party ,
Remedies ,
SCOTUS ,
Screenplays ,
Seagate ,
Standard of Review ,
Trade Secrets ,
Trademark Registration ,
Trademarks ,
UK ,
UK Brexit ,
Unlawful Disclosure ,
Whistleblowers ,
Willful Infringement
Last week, the Southern District of New York granted summary judgment to Tiffany & Co. on its trademark infringement claim against Costco Wholesale Corporation for selling rings advertised under the TIFFANY mark. Tiffany &...more
9/15/2015
/ Bad Faith ,
Costco ,
Fair Use ,
Generic ,
Likelihood of Confusion ,
Summary Judgment ,
Surveys ,
Tiffany and Company ,
Trademark Infringement ,
Trademark Litigation ,
Trademarks ,
Young Lawyers
In This Issue:
- Federal Circuit Affirms PTO in First Appeal of an Inter Partes Review Decision
- EU Copyright: No Resale of Digital Content Except for Software?
- Qualcomm Agrees to $975 Million Fine and...more
4/13/2015
/ Broadest Reasonable Interpretation Standard ,
China ,
Copyright ,
EU ,
Fraud ,
International Trade Commission (ITC) ,
Jurisdiction ,
Patent Trial and Appeal Board ,
Patents ,
Qualcomm ,
Standard Essential Patents ,
Trademarks
Yesterday, the Supreme Court issued its opinion in Hana Financial, Inc. v. Hana Bank, No. 13-1211. The issue presented was whether the judge or the jury should determine whether two trademarks may be “tacked” for purposes of...more
Fraudulent solicitations and invoices for trademark services are on the rise, inundating trademark applicants and registrants with offers to perform potentially unnecessary services. These solicitations often come in the form...more
Last year, the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) received over 1,900 applications for new generic top-level domains (gTLDs), including multiple applications for popular domains like .app, .inc, .art,...more
Last year, the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) received over 1,900 applications for new generic top-level domains (gTLDs), including multiple applications for popular domains like .app, .inc, .art,...more