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Trade Dress Trademark Litigation

Farella Braun + Martel LLP

Careful What You Wish For: Demand Letters Can Result in Unintended Litigation

When seeing similar trademarks or trade dress employed by a third party, companies often immediately react with a demand letter requiring the target to “immediately cease and desist” its use of the IP and threatening...more

McDermott Will & Emery

It’s an Old Tune: Third-Party-Use Evidence From Long Ago Can Support Genericness

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The US Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit found that the district court abused its discretion in wholesale exclusion of evidence on the issue of genericness. The evidence was offered to show prior use of a trade dress...more

McDermott Will & Emery

Sole Searching: Trade Dress Hopes Booted as Functional, Nondistinctive

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The US Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit affirmed a district court’s summary judgment grant in a trademark dispute, finding that the district court did not err in concluding that a subset of design elements lacked...more

Sheppard Mullin Richter & Hampton LLP

Divided 9th Circuit Says District Court Has Power to Adjudicate TM Applications

In BBK Tobacco & Foods LLP v. Cent. Coast Agric., Inc., 97 F.4th 668 (9th Cir. 2024), the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals held that federal district courts have power to adjudicate trademark applications pursuant to the Lanham...more

Dorsey & Whitney LLP

Wavy Baby’s Shoes Not Entitled to Special First Amendment Protections

Dorsey & Whitney LLP on

40 years ago, I was the new kid in 6th grade – truly a terrible age in a young girl’s life to try and “fit in” at a new elementary school in a small town. But, one of my best memories from that year was procuring my first...more

Lewis Roca

The IP of Everything Podcast - Episode 22 - The IP of Dog Toys

Lewis Roca on

Explore the legal intricacies of dog toy trademarks such as Chewy Vuitton and Bad Spaniels. Uncover key cases, including a pivotal Supreme Court showdown, with implications for both canines and intellectual property at large....more

Katten Muchin Rosenman LLP

Can Significant Sales Be the Fast Track to Trade Dress Protection? - Kattison Avenue/Katten Kattwalk | Issue 3

When a retail brand has a consistent, unique look and seeks enforcement against a too-similar competitor or a brash counterfeiter, trade dress protection under the Lanham Act provides the muscle. But part of what makes trade...more

Womble Bond Dickinson

California Church Wins Permanent Injunction Prohibiting Wedding Venue From Using Church’s Distinctive Trade Dress For Chapel

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Wayfarers Chapel, a Rancho Palos Verdes church, sued Malibu wedding chapel Calamigos Ranch on trademark and trade dress infringement grounds, as well as unfair competition. Interestingly, Wayfarers Chapel alleged in their...more

ArentFox Schiff

Reflecting on the Interplay Between Real Estate and Intellectual Property in 2023 - Landmark Trademark Cases and Copyright...

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As 2023 came to an end, it offered a prime opportunity to examine significant legal developments in intellectual property case law and implications for the real estate industry in the year to come. Among other things,...more

Womble Bond Dickinson

The Sky’s the Limit? TTAB Rules that Guitar-Shaped Hotel Is a Distinctive Design

Womble Bond Dickinson on

For music lovers, while it may be a bit far for some to travel to Liverpool and stay in the Yellow Sub Hotel, why not have a more local adventure, in sunny Florida at The Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino’s The Guitar Hotel,...more

McDermott Will & Emery

Parody of Iconic Sneaker Isn’t Entitled to Heightened First Amendment Protection

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The US Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit upheld a temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction enjoining use of a trademark and trade dress associated with an iconic sneaker design over a First Amendment...more

Vondran Legal

Proper grounds to cancel another companies trademark

Vondran Legal on

In business, trademarks are everything. It's how consumers come to know, love and trust your brand. It's a valuable corporate asset, and many disputes can arise of name rights with the explosion of e-commerce and the...more

Irwin IP LLP

“[It’s All Good, Man],” Says S.D.N.Y. to AMC  

Irwin IP LLP on

This week, the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York dismissed Liberty Tax Services’ suit alleging trademark and trade dress infringement, trademark dilution, and defamation against AMC for AMC’s use of...more

McDermott Will & Emery

Just How Similar Must Competing Marks Be to Survive Dismissal?

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After a de novo review, the US Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit affirmed in part and reversed in part a district court’s motion to dismiss, finding the competing marks sufficiently similar to avoid dismissal, and the...more

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

MarkIt to Market® - September 2023: How Design Patents Can Complement Brands' Trademark Portfolios

Many brand owners are familiar with the value of registered trademarks, which safeguard the goodwill cultivated between mark holders and consumers by reducing confusion as to the source of the associated goods. However,...more

ArentFox Schiff

Supreme Court Puts a Leash on Parody Defense in ‘BAD SPANIELS’ Trademark Infringement Case

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The US Supreme Court rejected First Amendment defenses raised by the maker of whiskey bottle-shaped dog chew toys branded BAD SPANIELS based on claims of trademark infringement and dilution of JACK DANIEL’S marks. ...more

Ladas & Parry LLP

TTAB Confirms that Building Design Marks Lack of Distinctiveness

Ladas & Parry LLP on

In In re Palacio Del Rio Inc (Serial Nos 88412764 and 88437801), the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (TTAB) has issued an opinion affirming the refusal of two building design mark applications by Palacio Del Rio Inc (PDR) –...more

International Lawyers Network

Is the Legal Test for Expressive Use of a Trademark on The Rocks? Jack Daniel’s Prevails at the Supreme Court

The Bottom Line - The U.S. Supreme Court recently decided that, when using another’s trademark “as a designation of source for the infringer’s own goods,” one is not entitled to a First Amendment defense even if the use...more

WilmerHale

Supreme Court Miniseries: Zero Spoof Whiskey

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In the Public Interest is excited to present a miniseries examining notable decisions recently issued by the United States Supreme Court. The first episode in the miniseries welcomes WilmerHale Partner Thomas Saunders, who...more

Weintraub Tobin

Podcast - The Briefing by the IP Law Blog: Bad Spaniels in the Doghouse – Jack Daniels Prevails in Trademark Fight

Weintraub Tobin on

The U.S. Supreme Court provided clarification on the application of the Rogers test in relation to Jack Daniels v. VIP Products. Scott Hervey and Jamie Lincenberg talk about this ruling on this episode of The Briefing by the...more

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

MarkIt to Market® - June 2023: News Flash: Trademark Infringement is No Laughing Matter

The Bad Spaniels and MetaBirkin cases clarify that artistic expression is no foolproof defense to trademark infringement. Brand owners welcomed the decision the US Supreme Court rendered in Jack Daniel's Properties Inc....more

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

MarkIt to Market® - June 2023

Thank you for reading the June 2023 issue of Sterne Kessler's MarkIt to Market® newsletter. This month, we begin a three-part series that closely examines ways to lose trademark rights; share an article that examines the...more

Kaufman & Canoles

The Dog Days Are Over for Jack Daniel’s

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On June 8, 2023, brand owners breathed a sigh of relief with the Supreme Court’s unanimous ruling consistent with prior jurisprudence that potential infringers of a famous trademark are not precluded from liability by merely...more

Moritt Hock & Hamroff LLP

Supreme Court Limits The Parody Defense In Trademark Infringement Claims

The U.S. Supreme Court, in a unanimous decision, vacated a decision by the Ninth Circuit that in effect barred trademark infringement and dilution claims against the use of a trademark that parodies the plaintiff’s trademark....more

Kohrman Jackson & Krantz LLP

Jack Daniels v. Bad Spaniels: Trademarks Triumphant Win Over The First Amendment Satirical Speech

Whether you operate a large e-commerce company on Amazon, a specialized artisan store on Shopify or Etsy, or a local t-shirt company, all brands producing products resembling famous marks should consider the implications of...more

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