Trademarks, Attorney's Fees

David-Versus-Goliath Trademark Victory Isn’t “Exceptional”

McDermott Will & Emery on 7/26/2024

The US Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit vacated an award of attorneys’ fees for reanalysis, explaining that the district court’s finding that the case was “exceptional” under the Lanham Act was based on policy...more

Smart Choice: Survey Design Didn’t Render Survey Unreliable

McDermott Will & Emery on 7/19/2024

Underscoring its faith in a jury’s competency to use its “common sense and experience” in evaluating evidence, the US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit affirmed a district court’s judgment in favor of the defendants in a...more

What Makes a Trademark Case “Exceptional” in the Fifth Circuit?

McDermott Will & Emery on 7/12/2024

The US Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit affirmed a senior party mark but found that the district court committed clear error in finding that a similar junior party mark was valid. The Fifth Circuit also found that the...more

Defendant Cannot Keep Trademark and Copyright Infringement In The Dark

Womble Bond Dickinson on 10/23/2023

We have discussed New York-based lighting and furniture designer and manufacturer Hudson Furniture, Inc. in a previous post. While that case has since been terminated, Hudson recently won summary judgment—a finding that...more

Just How Similar Must Competing Marks Be to Survive Dismissal?

McDermott Will & Emery on 10/5/2023

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

Understanding the importance of Trade Dress Protection for your distinct and non-functional product designs and packaging

Vondran Legal on 9/29/2023

What is the difference between a traditional trademark and trade dress protection? Traditional Trademarks - According to the USPTO - A trademark can be any word, phrase, symbol, design, or a combination of these things...more

Remedies as Big as Your Bamba

McDermott Will & Emery on 8/10/2023

Following the district court’s finding of trademark infringement on summary judgment, the US Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit affirmed the district court’s subsequent award of profits, costs and attorneys’ fees in favor...more

Functionality Dooms Alleged Trade Dress Protection

McDermott Will & Emery on 11/30/2022

The US Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit affirmed summary judgment of noninfringement in a trade dress suit, finding that the trade dress was functional and the attorneys’ fee award—as diminished by the district...more

Holdover Trademark Licensee Status Can’t Do Heavy Lifting on “Exceptionality”

McDermott Will & Emery on 8/4/2022

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

MarkIt to Market® - June 2022

Sterne, Kessler, Goldstein & Fox P.L.L.C. on 6/22/2022

[co-author: Ivy Attenborough, Summer Associate] Thank you for reading the June 2022 issue of Sterne Kessler's MarkIt to Market® newsletter. This month, we discuss the differences between Copyright Claims Board and federal...more

Judge Rejects Greek Freak’s Shot for Damages

Dorsey & Whitney LLP on 1/4/2022

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

The Steep Price of Not Being Exceptional

McDermott Will & Emery on 3/12/2021

Addressing the appropriate standard for determining what makes a trademark case sufficiently exceptional to warrant an award of attorney fees, the US Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit upheld the denial of a renewed...more

What this year’s Supreme Court opinions mean for you

McAfee & Taft on 12/9/2020

2020 was a tumultuous year. And while you were busy shifting to online meetings, implementing new measures to keep employees and customers safe, and otherwise adapting to the challenges created by the coronavirus, the U.S....more

Plaintiffs Awarded Attorneys’ Fees In D.Del. Trademark Infringement Action

Fox Rothschild LLP on 10/5/2020

By Memorandum Opinion entered by The Honorable Maryellen Noreika in Dr. Matthias Rath et al. v. Vita Sanotec, Inc. et al., Civil Action No. 17-953-MN (D.Del. October 2, 2020), the Court granted the motion of Plaintiffs Dr....more

IP Litigation Quarterly Update

Miller Canfield on 7/21/2020

In the second quarter of 2020, the Supreme Court decided five intellectual property focused cases in which it resolved a longstanding circuit split in Romag Fasteners and opened the door to the trademark registration of...more

Booking.com Remand on USPTO Attorney Fee Issue Portends Closure on Circuit Split

BakerHostetler on 7/17/2020

As followers of this blog may recall, in December 2019, the Supreme Court resolved a circuit split as to whether the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) may recover its “attorneys’ fees” (effectively, the pro...more

Latest Federal Court Cases - June 2020 #1

Schwabe, Williamson & Wyatt PC on 6/18/2020

PATENT CASE OF THE WEEK - Munchkin, Inc. v. Luv N’ Care, Ltd., Appeal No. 2019-1454 (Fed. Cir. June 8, 2020) - In its only precedential patent opinion issued this week, the Federal Circuit reversed an award of...more

Beating Tigers: How Carol Baskin Slayed the Tiger King (with Trademark Law)

Jaburg Wilk on 4/17/2020

Caution: Spoilers Ahead. Netflix’s documentary series “Tiger King” is currently the number one show on the streaming service and one of the most talked about shows in media. The series explores the peculiar world of private,...more

Bong Maker Avoids Having to Cough Up Attorney’s Fees

Dorsey & Whitney LLP on 3/12/2020

A bong distributor with a reputation as a serial trademark plaintiff managed to persuade a Florida federal court that it should not be on the hook for the prevailing party’s attorney’s fees. In Sream Inc. et al. v. CIJ...more

Seventh Circuit Formally Adopts Octane Fitness Standard for Trademark Cases

McDermott Will & Emery on 1/2/2020

The US Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit officially joined its sister circuits in holding that the Supreme Court standard for awarding attorney’s fees in patent cases, set forth in Octane Fitness, LLC v. ICON Health &...more

5 reasons why Canada is an attractive jurisdiction for trademark litigation

Smart & Biggar on 12/21/2019

Brand owners looking to enforce their rights expeditiously (and inexpensively) need look no further than Canada, which offers brand owners a number of tools to obtain relief against infringers and counterfeiters in a...more

U.S. Supreme Court: "All the Expenses" Does Not Include Attorney’s Fees - In Peter v. Nantkwest, Inc., the Supreme Court...

Jones Day on 12/17/2019

The U.S. Supreme Court's recent 9-0 decision in Peter v. NantKwest, Inc., Case No. 18-801, informs strategic cost considerations in appeals challenging adverse decisions issued by the United States Patent and Trademark Office...more

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