The Briefing by the IP Law Blog: Hermès Tries to Bag Digital Designer Selling MetaBirkin NFTs
Part Two: Christopher John Rogers on Pragmatic Glamour and Finding His Voice
Part One: Christopher John Rogers on Pragmatic Glamour and Finding His Voice
Stealth Lawyer: Loni Edwards, Fashion Startup Founder
Welcome to the summer issue of Katten KattWalk! We have an issue chock full of developments and pressing issues for fashion and brands. Associate Cynthia Martens starts with a look at “superfakes” and how the rise in...more
Consider this scenario: you worked hard for many years and spent thousands of dollars building your brand. You even took the proper precautions and registered your trademark with the U.S. Trademark Office. Thanks to all that...more
Regardless of whether your business has any current plans to develop digital goods, including “non-fungible tokens” (NFTs), a recent verdict in a first-of-its-kind case involving trademark rights and digital assets should...more
Web3, the up-and-coming decentralized iteration of the World Wide Web built on the blockchain, presents a unique opportunity for fashion brands to provide consumers with phygital—physical plus digital—experiences. Creating...more
By now, news has broken about The Ohio State University and its official registration of a trademark for the word “THE”. This comes after a nearly three-year battle to clinch legal branding access to a word that’s deeply...more
The Katten Kattwalk discusses legal issues in the fashion industry affecting the trademarks, patents and copyrights associated with companies, brands and products. ...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
Messi is victorious not only on the football field, but also before the European Courts: the football player’s reputation creates a conceptual difference between MESSI and MASSI which counteracts the visual and phonetic...more
The functionality doctrine remains strong. In a recent decision, the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board relied on the doctrine of functionality in finding that the product configuration mark at issue was unprotectable under...more
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
The Shanghai Pudong District Court has recently handed down a remarkable judgment, awarding punitive damages equal to 3 times the proven damages to a foreign sportswear company, and fully upheld the company's claim for RMB 3...more
After receiving a wave of backlash against the decision to name her new shapewear line “Kimono” – as in the name for the traditional Japanese garment – Kim Kardashian has recently relented from adopting the term as a part of...more
One of the biggest trademark cases in 2018 addressed the issue of secondary meaning in product design—specifically, Converse’s rights in its signature Chuck Taylor® All Star® shoe. In Converse v. ITC, the Federal Circuit...more
On January 30, 2019, the luxury jewelry suppliers Van Cleef & Arpels filed suit in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York against Nice Ice Fine Jewelers, LLC (“Defendant”). Van Cleef & Arpels’...more
In Textilis v. Svenkst Tenn AB, the European Court of Justice (CJEU) held that the 2015 amendments to the trademark regulation (Article 7(1)(e)(iii) of Regulation No 207/2009), which limited the right for trademark protection...more
On November 7, 2018 Louis Vuitton Malletier, S.A. filed a complaint in the Southern District of New York against i-Fe Apparel, Inc., Yongun Jung, and a number of presently unknown entities and individuals (“Defendants”)....more
Knock-offs and ‘copycat’ designs are nothing new to the fashion world. The rising demand for “fast fashion” and bargain hunting alike make knock-offs particularly attractive to the consumer’s insatiable appetite. This trend...more
This blog has followed the evolving judicial views concerning disparaging trademarks, culminating in the Supreme Court’s decision in in Matal v. Tam, 137 S. Ct. 1744 (June 19, 2017)....more
The U.S. Supreme Court decided last week to hear the case of Iancu v. Brunetti regarding the possibility that the Lanham Act violates a fashion designer’s freedom of speech...more
In a recent decision that illustrates the relevance of timing in evaluating the question of secondary meaning, the Court of Appeals of the Federal Circuit breathed new life into Converse’s “Chuck Taylor” sneaker design...more
Design patents are often the go-to option for protecting the visual features, or design, of a product. But design patent protection is not always available, such as after the product has been on sale, offered for sale, or...more
William Adams is a musical performer who is more famously known by his stage name, will.i.am. A recent ruling from the United States Patent and Trademark Office, Trademark Trial and Appeal Board, unfortunately makes him a...more
The Situation: The Court of Justice of the European Union ("CJEU") rendered its ruling in the Louboutin case (C-163/16) on June 12, 2018. The Result: The CJEU has confirmed that Christian Louboutin's red outer sole can be...more
Judgment of 17 January 2018 in Case T-68/16 Deichmann v EUIPO – Munich - The General Court (GC) upheld the Board of Appeal’s (BoA) finding that evidence showing minor differences in a cross device nevertheless clearly...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