News & Analysis as of

Star Athletica v Varsity Brands

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

MarkIt to Market® - May 2020: Banana and Pencil: A Tale of Two Circuits

Three years ago, the Supreme Court announced a seemingly simple separability test for determining whether features of a useful article are eligible for copyright protection in the landmark decision Star Athletica v. Varsity...more

Foley Hoag LLP - Making Your Mark

Bite-Sized Legal Tales for Your Halloween Candy Bowl

Spooky Stories of Useful Bananas, Judicial Intervention in the Candy Aisle, and the Urge to Run Away and Join the Halloween Circus - It’s the most wonderful time of the year! Whatever the intent of the original song, I...more

McDermott Will & Emery

That’s Bananas: Third Circuit Examines Copyright Protection Under Star Athletica

McDermott Will & Emery on

Applying the Supreme Court of the United States’ 2017 decision in Star Athletica v. Varsity Brands regarding the copyrightability of non-utilitarian sculptural design features (IP Update, Vol. 20, No. 4), the US Court of...more

Foley Hoag LLP - Making Your Mark

Star Athletica and the Expansion of Useful Article Protection: Copyright Office Permits Registration of Automotive Floor Liner

The Supreme Court’s decision in Star Athletica v. Varsity Brands established a new and simplified test for determining whether useful articles can obtain copyright protection. Many have wondered, in the year since it was...more

Ladas & Parry LLP

It’s 2018: The Impact Of IP Decisions From 2017

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2017 saw a bumper crop of Supreme Court decisions on intellectual property matters around the world including eight by the United States Supreme Court, two by the Canadian Supreme Court, and two by the United Kingdom Supreme...more

McNees Wallace & Nurick LLC

2017 In Review – Trademarks, Copyrights and Patents

Trademark Law - Let Them Register Offensive Trademarks! - In June of 2017, in Matal v. Tam, the Supreme Court held that the disparagement clause of the federal Lanham Act violates the Free Speech Clause of the First...more

Dorsey & Whitney LLP

Star Athletica Leaves Parties Weeping in Copyright Dispute over Tear Drop Design

Dorsey & Whitney LLP on

In Star Athletica v. Varsity Brands, the U.S. Supreme Court clarified the proper test for determining when a useful article is subject to copyright protection. That new standard was recently brought to bear in JetMax Limited...more

Fenwick & West LLP

Key SCOTUS Decisions in Tech – First Half 2017

Fenwick & West LLP on

Despite being short one justice for much of the year, the U.S. Supreme Court handed down multiple significant decisions this past term that can unsettle long-standing legal understandings in multiple technology fields. These...more

Jones Day

Jones Day’s Review of Business-Related Cases in the Supreme Court’s October Term 2016

Jones Day on

During what many have labeled a “quiet Term,” the U.S. Supreme Court, working with only eight justices for most of the session, still delivered at least 30 rulings of particular interest to business and industry. These...more

Knobbe Martens

Meow- Copycat Fur and Bows - Forever 21 Stares Down Puma

Knobbe Martens on

As discussed in our previous blog post Puma Treads New Territory Hitting Forever 21 with Copyright Allegations after the Supreme Court’s Star Athletica Decision, Puma sued Forever 21 for design patent infringement, trade...more

Katten Muchin Rosenman LLP

The Katten Kattwalk | Issue 13

The Katten Kattwalk discusses legal issues in the fashion industry affecting the trademarks, patents and copyrights associated with companies, brands and products. ...more

McDonnell Boehnen Hulbert & Berghoff LLP

MBHB Snippets: A review of developments in Intellectual Property Law - Volume 15, Issue 2

Preparing patent applications for examination at the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) requires proficient writing, detailed knowledge of the requirements of the Patent Act, and technical acumen. Once a patent...more

McDonnell Boehnen Hulbert & Berghoff LLP

Practice Tips for Copyright Owners in the Wake of Star Athletica v. Varsity Brands

After considering almost a year’s worth of substantive briefing (including fifteen separate amicus briefs), oral argument, at least ten distinct tests employed in courts throughout the country, as well as numerous novel tests...more

Knobbe Martens

The Top Hits: Fashion Cases with a Big Impact

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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

Foley & Lardner LLP

You’ve Gotta Keep ‘Em Separated

Foley & Lardner LLP on

The US Supreme Court’s ruling in Star Athletica v Varsity Brands provides a path to copyrightability for pictorial or graphical elements of clothing designs and useful articles. Laura Ganoza and Julie McGinnis of Foley &...more

McDermott Will & Emery

Give Me an E: Cheerleading Uniform Designs Eligible for Copyright Protection

McDermott Will & Emery on

In a 6–2 decision authored by Justice Thomas, the Supreme Court of the United States provided guidance as to whether aesthetic designs of a cheerleading uniform, such as stripes, chevrons, zigzags and color blocks, are...more

Kilpatrick

Something for Designers to (Maybe) Cheer About: Star Athletica v. Varsity Brands

Kilpatrick on

Historically, fashion designers, as well as other designers whose creative efforts are incorporated into useful/functional articles like clothing, shoes, and furniture, have struggled successfully to assert copyright...more

Ward and Smith, P.A.

Supreme Court Announces Broad Separability Test in Applying Copyright Law to Useful Articles

Ward and Smith, P.A. on

This article continues the discussion in an earlier article addressing the scope of copyright protection as it applies to useful goods under copyright law. At the time the first article was written, Varsity Brands, Inc. v....more

Goulston & Storrs PC

Supreme Court Says ‘Give Me a ©’ to the Fashion Industry

Goulston & Storrs PC on

A recent U.S. Supreme Court copyright decision analyzing cheerleader uniforms may have a profound impact on retailers, and on the fashion industry in particular. On March 22, 2017, the Supreme Court held in Star Athletica,...more

Holland & Knight LLP

Separating Art from Function: Supreme Court Creates Copyright Test for Designs

Holland & Knight LLP on

In a landmark 6-2 decision, the U.S. Supreme Court resolved "widespread disagreement" among lower courts and held that the artistic elements in a functional article ­– such as the cheerleading uniform at issue in this case –...more

Morrison & Foerster LLP

MoFo IP Newsletter - April 2017

Supreme Court Restricts the Extraterritorial Reach of U.S. Patent Law for Exported Goods - On February 22, 2017, the Supreme Court in a landmark decision held that the supply of a single component of a multicomponent...more

Proskauer - New England IP Blog

Cheerleader Uniform Designs Protectable Under Copyright Act

The Supreme Court recently held in Star Athletica, L.L.C. v. Varsity Brands, Inc., that the designs on certain cheerleader uniforms may be protected copyrights. The 6-2 decision clarified the test to be applied when...more

Knobbe Martens

Puma Treads New Territory Hitting Forever 21 with Copyright Allegations after the Supreme Court’s Star Athletica Decision

Knobbe Martens on

On March 31, 2017, Forever 21 was sued by Puma over its “Fenty” line of shoes. The “Fenty” label has become popular, in part, due to the influence of music artist, Rihanna as the label’s brand ambassador. In its complaint,...more

Foley Hoag LLP - Making Your Mark

Supreme Court Establishes Test for Copyrightability of Two-Dimensional Designs Incorporated Into Useful Articles in Star Athletica...

On March 22, 2017, the Supreme Court established a test for determining whether a design that is incorporated into a useful article is entitled to copyright protection. In its much-awaited opinion in Star Athletica, L.L.C. v....more

Goodwin

Supreme Court Broadens Copyright Eligibility For Design Elements, Including Artwork On Clothing

Goodwin on

Summary - In Star Athletica, LLC v. Varsity Brands, Inc., 580 U.S. ___ (2017), the Supreme Court clarified the test for whether artistic features of a useful article are separable and therefore copyright eligible. The...more

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