The Briefing by the IP Law Blog: Sushi Restaurants Battle for Control over Hand Roll Trademark
You are likely familiar with the children’s game, Connect 4, in which players drop red and black checker pieces into an upright rack trying to get four of their pieces in a row to win. Some of you may have even seen enlarged...more
Welcome to the final chapter of our Burger War Trilogy. In our earlier installments, Part I and Part II, we discussed the secondary meaning surveys proffered by both parties in this trade dress dispute. We now turn to...more
Sushi Nozawa, LLC, owner of the popular sushi destination Sugarfish, is challenging the HRB Experience LLC over use of the term “Hand Roll Bar.” IP Attorneys Scott Hervey and Josh Escovedo discuss the lawsuit, including...more
The US Court of Appeals for the First Circuit found that it had jurisdiction despite an arguably improper notice of appeal, and that the trademark owner waived its right to submit new evidence and failed to prove that the...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
Addressing the issue of collateral estoppel, the US Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit upheld a ruling dismissing a trademark owner’s second infringement lawsuit against the same defendant after a finding that the...more
Addressing issues relating to validity of registered and common law trademarks, the US Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit upheld a jury verdict finding infringement of two registered marks and reversed a verdict finding...more
On October 30, 2018, the Federal Circuit weighed in on Converse’s Chuck Taylor trade dress infringement lawsuit. As reported in If the IP Fits, Wear It: IP Protection For Footwear – a U.S. Perspective, Converse filed over 30...more
Federal Circuit Summary - Before Newman, Mayer, and Stoll. Appeal from the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board. Summary: Words that are primarily a surname can be registered as trademarks if they have acquired secondary...more
On October 30, 2018, a divided Federal Circuit issued a decision in Converse, Inc. v. ITC, whereby it created a new test for secondary meaning and placed limits on trade dress infringement. The Federal Circuit found...more
As explained in a recent Jones Day Commentary, the Federal Circuit clarified the tests for determining secondary meaning and trade dress infringement. Converse v. ITC, No. 16-2497 (Fed. Cir. Oct. 30, 2018). First, the Federal...more
• The Federal Circuit issued a rare precedential decision in an appeal from a trademark- and trade dress-based ITC investigation. • In its decision, the Federal Circuit reiterated that the act of trademark registration does...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
Federal Circuit Summary - Before Judges Dyk, O’Malley, and Hughes. Appeal from the United States International Trade Commission. Summary: Registered trade dress carries a presumption of secondary meaning only...more
Moldex-Metric, Inc. filed a trademark infringement lawsuit against McKeon Products. Moldex-Metric asserted that McKeon infringed its unregistered trade dress consisting of a bright green color for foam ear plugs by using a...more
Over the last year, there have been some significant trademark and copyright cases in the fashion industry. Below are summaries of recent cases all brand owners should know and understand. These cases touch on important...more
Airwair, the owner of the Dr. Martens brand, recently launched a series of lawsuits in the Northern District of California to enforce the trade dress of its “iconic boots and shoes.” One lawsuit was filed in October against...more
With some cases, you just shake your head. In this case, a restaurant purveyor thought it would be okay to open a restaurant by the name of the “Krusty Krab.” For those of you who have no reason to have been watching...more
In a previous post we discussed what SpongeBob SquarePants can teach us about trademark licensing. Now, more IP lessons are bubbling up from the fathoms below thanks to our absorbent, yellow and porous friend. ...more
In Royal Crown Company and Dr Pepper/Seven Up Inc v The Coca-Cola Company, Opposition 91178927, each party opposed the other’s trademark applications containing the term ZERO for soft drinks, sports drinks and energy drinks. ...more