SCOTUS and federal court rulings on TTAB decisions on granting trademarks and trademark renewals; Netflix settling an anticipated defamation case with a disclaimer and donation
Tag, You’re Sued: Graffiti Artists Sue Over Use of Their Tags
(Podcast) The Briefing: Tag, You’re Sued: Graffiti Artists Sue Over Use of Their Tags
The IP of Everything Podcast - Episode 22 - The IP of Dog Toys
Roundup of 2023 Entertainment Law Cases: Analysis SAG/AFTRA and WGA contracts, No Parody of Iconic Sneaker, AI Copyright Highlights China vs US law; SCOTUS Bad Spaniel and Warhol/Prince.
The Briefing: Once Upon A Time – SCOTUS Rejects Trademark Infringement Claim Against Quentin Tarantino Film
(Podcast) The Briefing: Once Upon A Time – SCOTUS Rejects Trademark Infringement Claim Against Quentin Tarantino Film
(Podcast) The Briefing: SCOTUS to Determine if USPTO Refusal to Register TRUMP TOO SMALL is Unconstitutional
The Briefing: SCOTUS to Determine if USPTO Refusal to Register TRUMP TOO SMALL is Unconstitutional
The Briefing: The Supreme Court Limits the Reach of The Lanham Act [PODCAST]
The Briefing: The Supreme Court Limits the Reach of The Lanham Act
Supreme Court Miniseries: Zero Spoof Whiskey
Podcast - The Briefing by the IP Law Blog: Bad Spaniels in the Doghouse – Jack Daniels Prevails in Trademark Fight
The Briefing by the IP Law Blog: Bad Spaniels in the Doghouse – Jack Daniels Prevails in Trademark Fight
Podcast: The Briefing by the IP Law Blog - After 70 Years, Supreme Court Will Once Again Weigh in on The Exterritorial Reach of Lanham Act
The Briefing by the IP Law Blog: After 70 Years, Supreme Court Will Once Again Weigh in on The Exterritorial Reach of Lanham Act
5 Key Takeaways | Petitions for Expungement or Reexamination of the Trademark Modernization Act
5 Key Takeaways | Combating Misrepresentations in Trademark Prosecution and Maintenance
The Briefing: Dr. Seuss Sets Photon Torpedoes on Star Trek Mashup in 9th Circuit Appeal (Part Two, Trademark)
The United States Supreme Court is set to take on a trademark infringement case that may have a lasting impact on the concept of corporate separateness. In Dewberry Group, Inc. v. Dewberry Engineers Inc., the Supreme Court...more
The Supreme Court has agreed to consider the breadth of a damages award in a long-running trademark dispute between two real estate companies. Dewberry Group, Inc. v. Dewberry Engineers, Inc., Docket No. 23-900 (Supr. Ct....more
Dewberry Engineers Inc. (“Dewberry Engineers”), a prominent engineering firm, has been locked in an on-again, off-again trademark dispute with a real estate development firm called Dewberry Group, Inc. (“Dewberry Group”) for...more
The original frontman of The Guess Who, Burton Cummings, terminated his public performance license agreements in the hope of preventing what he calls a The Guess Who “cover band” from performing the works he penned for the...more
Discovery misconduct can be remedied not only through the sanctions available in the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, but also potentially through the defense of unclean hands....more
With the advent of AI technology capable of replicating a person's voice and utilizing it for commercial purposes, several key legal issues are likely to emerge under California's right of publicity law. The right of...more
The US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit addressed contributory trademark infringement for the first time, finding that specific knowledge is required for liability to attach. Y.Y.G.M. SA, DBA Brandy Melville v....more
In April, we discussed oral arguments at the Supreme Court for Abitron Austria GmbH et al. v. Hetronic International, Inc., a case in which the Supreme Court considered the extraterritorial reach of the Lanham Act (“Act”) for...more
In a decision that may make it more difficult for brand owners to enforce their marks against infringers located outside of the United States, the Supreme Court of the United States vacated the judgment of the US Court of...more
On June 29, 2023, the Supreme Court ruled that the Lanham Act does not apply to infringing use of a trademark outside of the United States. In doing so, the Court overturned a damages award of over $90 million associated with...more
The US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit found that liability under the Copyright Act and liability under the Lanham Act are not mutually exclusive and that liability under the Copyright Act does not negate trade dress...more
The Lanham Act- Lewis v. Acuity Real Estate Services, 6th Cir. 22-1406- In this appeal, the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed the district court’s decision dismissing the complaint under the Lanham Act because such a...more
On March 21, 2023, the Supreme Court of the United States heard oral argument in Abitron Austria GmbH, et al. (“Abitron et al.”) v. Hetronic International, Inc. (“Hetronic”) on an issue it has not squarely addressed in seven...more
The US Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit addressed issues of enhanced remedies in a dispute regarding the sale of weightlifting equipment beyond the expiration of a licensing agreement between the involved parties....more
Jessica Hinton, et al., Plaintiffs, vs. Completely Innocent LLC, Defendant - United States District Court for the District of Arizona No. CV-21-01019-PHX-SPL - Opinion issued January 7, 2022 - Arizona Right of...more
We previously wrote about a series of trademark lawsuits filed by NBA MVP and now NBA champion Giannis Antetokounmpo over the use of his nickname “Greek Freak”. Those lawsuits all contained similar allegations: that the...more
Since the Supreme Court’s 2014 decision in Octane Fitness, LLC v. ICON Health & Fitness, Inc., district courts have had expanded discretion to award prevailing party attorney’s fees in “exceptional cases” under the Patent...more
By Memorandum Opinion entered by The Honorable Colm F. Connolly in CareDx, Inc. v. Natera, Inc., Civil Action No. 19-662-CFC-CJB (D.Del. May 7, 2021), the Court granted Natera’s motion to exclude at trial the opinions of...more
It was hard to escape news last month of the “Satan Shoes” collaboration between Lil Nas X and Brooklyn art collective MSCHF Product Studio (“MSCHF”). The limited (666 pairs) release of custom red and black Nike Air Max...more
[co-author: Joseph Diorio, Law Clerk] The April 2021 issue of Sterne Kessler's MarkIt to Market® newsletter discusses the suit filed by Nike over MSCHF's "Satan Shoes"; the latest PTAB decision in the ongoing battle...more
When plaintiffs assert trademark infringement and related actions under the Lanham Act (or state law counterparts), more often than not the complaint will include a demand for a jury trial on all issues so triable, as is...more
On April 23, 2020, the United States Supreme Court unanimously held that the Lanham Act does not require a showing of willful infringement to justify an award of defendant’s profits to the plaintiff. Romag Fasteners, Inc. v....more
The April 2020 issue of Sterne Kessler's MarkIt to Market® newsletter discusses a precedential Federal Circuit ruling about color marks for product packaging, takeaways from a recent Supreme Court decision regarding when an...more
Ariana Grande, identified in a recent complaint filed in federal court as an “internationally renowned singer, songwriter and actress,” is challenging struggling retailer Forever 21’s use of images that allegedly mimic Ms....more
The U.S. Supreme Court recently granted writ of certiorari in a case with significant potential to alter the trademark infringement damages calculus. In that case, Romag Fasteners Inc. v. Fossil Inc. et al., Case No....more