In a fifty-seven-page memorandum opinion and order, the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York granted a fashion brand its motion for a preliminary injunction preventing its lead designer from...more
3/18/2021
/ Advertising ,
Arrangement and Promotion ,
Contract Terms ,
Employment Contract ,
Fashion Branding ,
Fashion Design ,
Instagram ,
Intellectual Property Protection ,
Motion To Enjoin ,
Name and Likeness ,
Personality Rights ,
Preliminary Injunctions ,
Social Media ,
The Copyright Act ,
Trademark Litigation ,
Trademarks ,
TRO
In a precedential decision, the United States Patent and Trademark Office, Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (the “Board”) affirmed the refusal to register the trademark GOD BLESS THE USA for home decor items on the ground...more
Slogans can, but do not always, function as trademarks. To be sure, the United States Patent and Trademark Office (“USPTO”) frequently allows slogans such as JUST DO IT! or QUALITY THROUGH CRAFTSMANSHIP, among many others, to...more
On September 30, 2020, the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board ruled in favor of the assignee of the famous LEHMAN BROTHERS trademark against the registration that mark as a brand name for beer, spirits, and bar and restaurant...more
10/8/2020
/ Abandonment ,
Barclays ,
Evidence ,
Intellectual Property Protection ,
Lehman Brothers ,
Likelihood of Confusion ,
Priority Disputes ,
Trademark Application ,
Trademark Expiration ,
Trademark Litigation ,
Trademark Registration ,
Trademark Trial and Appeal Board ,
Trademarks
As cannabis products become legal in more and more states, commercial interest grows in protecting the trademarks associated with those products. The United States Patent and Trademark Office has maintained its refusal to...more
3/16/2020
/ Cannabidiol (CBD) oil ,
Cannabis Products ,
Common Law Claims ,
Counterclaims ,
Cross Motions ,
Decriminalization of Marijuana ,
Dietary Supplements ,
Intellectual Property Protection ,
Lanham Act ,
Marijuana ,
Medical Foods ,
Motion to Dismiss ,
Plant Based Products ,
Preemption ,
Preliminary Injunctions ,
Priority Disputes ,
Retail Market ,
Summary Judgment ,
Trademark Application ,
Trademark Cancellation ,
Trademark Infringement ,
Trademark Litigation ,
Trademark Registration ,
Trademarks ,
Unfair or Deceptive Trade Practices ,
USPTO
The United States is a party to the General Inter-American Convention for Trade Mark and Commercial Protection of Washington, 1929 (“Pan-American Convention”), along with Colombia, Cuba, Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras, Nicaragua,...more
3/12/2020
/ Counterclaims ,
Cross-Border ,
Food Manufacturers ,
Honduras ,
Intellectual Property Litigation ,
Intellectual Property Protection ,
Likelihood of Confusion ,
Priority Rules ,
Trade Names ,
Trademark Cancellation ,
Trademark Ownership ,
Trademark Trial and Appeal Board ,
Trademarks ,
Unfair Competition
The Federal Circuit in In re JC Hospitality LLC recently affirmed the United States Patent and Trademark Office, Trademark Trial and Appeal Board’s refusal to register the service mark THE JOINT for a venue offering...more
3/11/2020
/ Acquired Distinctiveness ,
Appeals ,
Corporate Branding ,
Descriptive Trademarks ,
Generic Marks ,
Intellectual Property Protection ,
Music ,
Restaurant Industry ,
Trademark Application ,
Trademark Registration ,
Trademark Trial and Appeal Board ,
Trademarks ,
USPTO
The Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (the “Board”) recently held that AT&T Mobility, LLC (“AT&T”) had sufficient interest in its almost completely moribund CINGULAR name to oppose two pending trademark applications filed by...more
3/3/2020
/ Abandonment ,
Article III ,
AT&T ,
Intellectual Property Protection ,
Lanham Act ,
Standing ,
Subsidiaries ,
Trademark Application ,
Trademark Infringement ,
Trademark Trial and Appeal Board ,
Trademarks ,
Wireless Industry ,
Wireless Technology
In a recent decision on remand from the Federal Circuit, the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (“Board”) rejected Petitioner adidas AG’s (“adidas”) claim that Respondent Christian Faith Fellowship Church (“CFFC”) abandoned its...more
12/2/2019
/ Abandonment ,
Adidas ,
Commerce Clause ,
Fashion Branding ,
Fashion Design ,
Fashion Industry ,
Intellectual Property Protection ,
Intent to Cancel ,
Inter Partes Review (IPR) Proceeding ,
Interstate Commerce ,
Lanham Act ,
Remand ,
Retail Market ,
Trademark Application ,
Trademark Registration ,
Trademark Trial and Appeal Board ,
Trademarks ,
Unitary Trademark ,
Use in Commerce ,
USPTO
The Federal Circuit upheld a Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (“Board”) decision refusing registration of an athletic apparel company’s trademark, holding that the trademark applicant waived its key arguments by not raising...more
9/9/2019
/ Appeals ,
Brand ,
Fashion Branding ,
Fashion Design ,
Intellectual Property Protection ,
Likelihood of Confusion ,
Motion for Reconsideration ,
Oral Argument ,
Sports Apparel ,
Trademark Application ,
Trademark Litigation ,
Trademark Trial and Appeal Board ,
Trademarks ,
Waiver of Rights
In a recent decision concerning the scope of protection for collective membership marks, the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board sustained The Pierce-Arrow Society’s opposition to registration of PIERCE-ARROW for “automobiles”...more
9/5/2019
/ Automotive Industry ,
Brand ,
Collective Marks ,
Corporate Branding ,
Intellectual Property Protection ,
Lanham Act ,
Likelihood of Confusion ,
Luxury Goods ,
Membership Interest ,
Motor Vehicles ,
Trademark Registration ,
Trademark Trial and Appeal Board ,
Trademarks
The Trademark Trial and Appeal Board recently affirmed the refusal to register a trademark application for BIG SIX for wine on the ground that the term is generic or descriptive of wines. In re Plata Wine Partners, LLC,...more
In a case affecting the fast-growing legal cannabis industry, the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (“TTAB” or “Board”) affirmed the United States Patent and Trademark Office’s (“USPTO”) refusal to register two trademarks for...more
7/26/2019
/ Cannabidiol (CBD) oil ,
Cannabis Products ,
Controlled Substances ,
Controlled Substances Act ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Decriminalization of Marijuana ,
Farm Bill ,
Hemp ,
Intellectual Property Litigation ,
Intellectual Property Protection ,
Marijuana ,
Marijuana Related Businesses ,
Trademark Application ,
Trademark Trial and Appeal Board ,
Trademarks ,
USPTO ,
Vaping
The Federal Circuit recently sustained the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board’s (“TTAB” or the “Board”) refusal to register Louis Vuitton Malletier’s (“LVM”) trademark APOGÉE for perfumes, a decision that will concern...more
7/17/2019
/ Cosmetics ,
Fashion Branding ,
Intellectual Property Protection ,
Likelihood of Confusion ,
Louis Vuitton ,
Personal Care Products ,
Retail Market ,
Trademark Application ,
Trademark Infringement ,
Trademark Litigation ,
Trademark Trial and Appeal Board ,
Trademarks ,
USPTO
The United States Patent and Trademark Office recently issued a new Examination Guide relating to trademarks for cannabis and cannabis-related goods and services....more
5/10/2019
/ Cannabidiol (CBD) oil ,
Cannabis Products ,
Decriminalization of Marijuana ,
Examination Manual ,
Hemp ,
Intellectual Property Protection ,
Marijuana ,
Marijuana Related Businesses ,
Trademark Application ,
Trademarks ,
USPTO
Rapunzel potentially was released from the trademark monopoly tower, not by her hair, but by trademark opposer and law professor Rebecca Curtin....more
According to the Federal Circuit, the skinny on the term “Thins” is that it may be generic for thinly cut snack crackers. Real Foods Pty Ltd. V. Frito-Lay North America, Inc., (October 4, 2018 Fed. Cir.)....more
10/16/2018
/ Acquired Distinctiveness ,
Appeals ,
Descriptive Trademarks ,
Food Manufacturers ,
Frito-Lay ,
Intellectual Property Protection ,
Trademark Application ,
Trademark Infringement ,
Trademark Litigation ,
Trademark Registration ,
Trademark Trial and Appeal Board ,
Trademarks
The New Jersey Turnpike Authority (“NJTA”) was forced to pay a big toll when the United States Patent and Trademark Office, Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (the “Board”), dismissed its opposition to a pizza restaurant’s...more
5/30/2018
/ Intellectual Property Protection ,
Likelihood of Confusion ,
Logos ,
Restaurant Industry ,
Trademark Application ,
Trademark Infringement ,
Trademark Litigation ,
Trademark Registration ,
Trademark Trial and Appeal Board ,
Trademarks ,
Transportation Industry
In a precedential decision, the United States Patent and Trademark Office, Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (“TTAB” or the “Board”) affirmed a refusal to register the logo...more
The Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit recently extended First Amendment protections for trademark applications in In re Brunetti, No. 15-1109 (Fed. Cir. December 15, 2017), ruling that Section 2(a) of the Lanham Act’s...more
12/28/2017
/ Appeals ,
Constitutional Challenges ,
Disparagement ,
Fashion Design ,
Fashion Industry ,
First Amendment ,
Free Speech ,
Intellectual Property Protection ,
Lanham Act ,
Matal v Tam ,
Scandalous/Immoral Marks ,
Trademark Registration ,
Trademarks ,
USPTO
It is natural for manufacturers to seek to widen their intellectual property protection. In the seminal case TrafFix Devices, Inc. v. Marketing Displays, Inc., 532 US 23 (2001), the Supreme Court struck down the plaintiff’s...more
In a 54 page decision issued on September 6, 2017, the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (the “Board”) ended (again) a long-standing dispute between snack food makers Frito-Lay, Inc. (“Frito”) and Princeton Vanguard, LLC...more
Calling the district court’s action an “abuse of discretion,” the 11th Circuit reversed a decision that cut by more than 90 percent a successful copyright infringement plaintiff’s request for attorney’s fees and costs. Yellow...more
The United States Patent and Trademark Office, Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (the “Board”) cancelled the registration for the mark PORTÓN last week, finding it to be confusingly similar to the senior mark PATRÓN. Patrón...more
The United States Patent and Trademark Office, Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (the “Board”) modified its treatment of the “family of trademarks” doctrine in the recent case In re LC Trademarks, Inc., Serial No. 85890412...more
1/16/2017
/ Ex Parte ,
Fast-Food Industry ,
Franchises ,
Hitachi ,
Intellectual Property Protection ,
Popular ,
Technology Sector ,
Trademark Application ,
Trademark Trial and Appeal Board ,
Trademarks ,
USPTO