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Intellectual Property Litigation Lanham Act Appeals

McDermott Will & Emery

No Fairytale Ending for Consumer Opposition: RAPUNZEL Reinforces Lexmark Standing Limits

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The US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit affirmed the Trademark Trial & Appeal Board’s dismissal of a trademark opposition brought by a consumer, holding that mere consumer interest is insufficient to establish...more

Fenwick & West LLP

Ninth Circuit Prescribes New Hearing for Damages in AirDoctor Default Judgment

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The plaintiff AirDoctor sued the defendant under the Lanham Act for advertising and selling filters for use in AirDoctor purifiers. While the defendant advertised its filters as “compatible” and “replacements” for the...more

Fish & Richardson

Federal Circuit Finds Beer Trademark Application Nothing but "Chicken Scratch"

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In yet another recent example of the need for care in establishing a full record when appealing the denial of a trademark application, on April 14, 2025, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit upheld the denial of...more

McDermott Will & Emery

Royal Play Penalty: No Standing in the End (Zone)

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The US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit dismissed an appeal from the Trademark Trial & Appeal Board, finding that the appellant lacked standing because it failed to allege any actual and particularized injury. Michael...more

Knobbe Martens

Fireball Frenzy: When First Registering a Mark, Genericness of a Mark Is Determined at the Time of Registration

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BULLSHINE DISTILLERY LLC v. SAZERAC BRANDS, LLC - Before Moore, Reyna and Taranto. Appeal from the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board. In assessing genericness, the TTAB considers how the mark was understood at the time of...more

McDermott Will & Emery

Opposers Beware: Your Own Mark May Not Be Protectable

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The US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit affirmed the Trademark Trial & Appeal Board’s dismissal of an opposition to the registration of the marks IVOTERS and IVOTERS.COM while also noting that the US Patent &...more

Knobbe Martens

Zoned Out: The Zone of Natural Expansion Doctrine Can Only Be Used Defensively

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DOLLAR FINANCIAL GROUP, INC. v. BRITTEX FINANCIAL, INC. [OPINION] - Before Prost, Taranto, and Hughes.  Appeal from the United States Patent and Trademark Office, Trademark Trial and Appeal Board. The zone of natural...more

Irwin IP LLP

Revving Up The Trade Dress Standard: Articulation First 

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Cardinal Motors, Inc. v. H&H Sports Protection USA Inc., No. 23-cv-7586 (2d Cir. Feb. 6, 2025) - On February 6, 2025, the Second Circuit held that the “articulation requirement” for a trade dress complaint—a pleading...more

Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP

US Supreme Court: 'Defendant’s Profits' Are Limited to Named Defendants Under the Lanham Act

Under the Lanham Act, a plaintiff who prevails on a trademark infringement claim may be entitled to recover the “defendant’s profits” as damages. The Supreme Court in Dewberry Group, Inc. v. Dewberry Engineers Inc....more

McDermott Will & Emery

No Bull: Historically Generic Term Can Become Non-Generic

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The US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit affirmed Trademark Trial & Appeal Board rulings, finding that a previously generic term was not generic at the time registration was sought because at that time the mark, as...more

Irwin IP LLP

Time To “Dew” It Again. 

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Dewberry Group, Inc., FKA Dewberry Capital Corp v. Dewberry Engineers Inc., No. 23-900, 604 U.S. (2025) - On February 26, 2025, the United States Supreme Court unanimously overturned a $43 million damages award arising out...more

Fitch, Even, Tabin & Flannery LLP

The Supreme Court Clarifies Definition of “Defendant’s Profits” Under the Lanham Act

On February 26, the U.S. Supreme Court in Dewberry Group, Inc. v. Dewberry Engineers Inc. unanimously held that an award of “defendant’s profits” under the Lanham Act in a trademark infringement suit is only ascribable to the...more

Morrison & Foerster LLP

Supreme Court’s Dewberry Decision: Navigating Profit Recovery in Trademark Infringement Cases

Can a defendant’s affiliates’ profits be considered when awarding the “defendant’s” profits to the prevailing plaintiff in a trademark infringement suit under the Lanham Act, § 1117(a)? In Dewberry Group, Inc. v Dewberry...more

Goodwin

Supreme Court Curtails Disgorgement in Trademark Infringement Case

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On February 26, 2025, the US Supreme Court issued a unanimous decision limiting the scope of an award of the “defendant’s profits” in trademark infringement suits under the Lanham Act, 15 U.S.C. §1117(a), to only those...more

Fenwick & West LLP

SCOTUS Stands by Corporate Separateness, Overturns Nearly $43M Award in Trademark Dispute

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The Supreme Court on February 26, 2025, overturned a nearly $43 million award granted in a decades long trademark dispute between two real estate companies. The unanimous ruling emphasized that under the Lanham Act section...more

WilmerHale

Supreme Court Vacates Trademark Infringement Disgorgement Award for Failure to Observe Separateness of Corporate Affiliates

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On February 26, 2025, the Supreme Court decided Dewberry Group, Inc. v. Dewberry Engineers Inc., No. 23-900, a case concerning corporate separateness and disgorgement awards for Lanham Act trademark infringement....more

BakerHostetler

Supreme Court Upholds Corporate Separateness in Unanimous Dewberry Decision

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In Dewberry Group, Inc. v. Dewberry Engineers, Inc., the Supreme Court unanimously held that the Lanham Act does not permit courts to disregard corporate identity when awarding damages for trademark infringement....more

Dorsey & Whitney LLP

SCOTUS Holds Affiliate Profits Not Available Under One Lanham Act Provision, But Leaves Door Open for Other Theories

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The United States Supreme Court issued a unanimous decision in Dewberry Group, Inc. v. Dewberry Engineers Inc., vacating a nearly $43 million profits award and remanding the case for further consideration. The Court concluded...more

Sterne, Kessler, Goldstein & Fox P.L.L.C.

Supreme Court Overturns Nearly $43 Million Trademark Infringement Award Based on Section 35 of the Lanham Act

The U.S. Supreme Court’s opinion in the Dewberry Group, Inc. v. Dewberry Engineers Inc. case was released Wednesday. In a unanimous opinion, the Court found that Section 35 of the Lanham Act, which provides that a plaintiff...more

Venable LLP

Out of the Doghouse? Jack Daniel's Marks Tarnished but Not Infringed by Bad Spaniels Toy

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On January 23, 2025, the United States District Court for the District of Arizona issued a final decision ending the intensely disputed, decade-long litigation between Jack Daniel's Properties, Inc. and VIP Products LLC....more

McDermott Will & Emery

Trade Dress Requires Separate Articulation and Distinctiveness Requirements

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The US Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit vacated and remanded a district court’s dismissal of a complaint for trade dress infringement and unfair competition, finding that the district court erred in requiring the...more

McDermott Will & Emery

Religious Texts, Copyrights, and Estate Law: A Case of Strange Bedfellows

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The US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit affirmed in part and reversed in part a case involving a deceased religious leader who owned the copyrights to works reflecting his teachings. The Court found that the copyrighted...more

McDermott Will & Emery

Equity Is Neither a “Good” Nor a “Service” Under Lanham Act

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The US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit affirmed a district court’s decision that, in terms of trademark use in commerce, corporate equity is not a “good” or “service” under the Lanham Act. LegalForce RAPC Worldwide, PC...more

McDermott Will & Emery

Lager Than Life: $56 Million Verdict in Beer Trademark Dispute Still on Tap

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The US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit upheld a $56 million trial verdict in a trademark dispute, finding that the evidence supported the jury’s conclusion that a beer company’s rebranding of one its beers infringed a...more

McDermott Will & Emery

Dolly Pardon: American Girl Can Sue Foreign Counterfeiter for Internet Sales

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The US Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit clarified its standards for establishing personal jurisdiction over foreign defendants that conduct business over the internet. American Girl, LLC v. Zembrka, DBA...more

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