A generic.com term may be eligible for trademark protection if consumers perceive the term as a source identifier.
The combination of a generic word plus ".com" does not necessarily equal a generic term. Instead, in an 8–1...more
7/13/2020
/ Acquired Distinctiveness ,
Appeals ,
Booking.com ,
Domain Name Registration ,
Domain Names ,
Generic Marks ,
Lanham Act ,
SCOTUS ,
Trademark Registration ,
Trademarks ,
United States Patent and Trademark Office v Booking.com BV ,
USPTO
In a unanimous opinion, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in favor of jeans manufacturer, Lucky Brand Dungarees, Inc. ("Lucky"), in its protracted trademark battle with Marcel Fashions Group, Inc. ("Marcel"), holding that Lucky...more
5/19/2020
/ Claim Preclusion ,
Collateral Estoppel ,
Counterclaims ,
Defense Preclusion ,
Fashion Branding ,
Issue Preclusion ,
Lucky Brand Dungarees v Marcel Fashion Group ,
Motion to Dismiss ,
Release Agreements ,
Res Judicata ,
SCOTUS ,
Split of Authority ,
Subsequent Litigation ,
Trademark Infringement ,
Trademark Litigation ,
Trademarks
Revisiting the government edicts doctrine for the first time in more than a century, the U.S. Supreme Court in Georgia v. Public.Resource.Org, Inc., No. 18–1150, 590 U.S. ___ (2020), split 5-4 to hold that annotations to...more
5/6/2020
/ Annotated Case Law ,
Appeals ,
Copyright ,
Copyright Infringement ,
Copyrightable Subject Matter ,
Georgia v. Public.Resource.Org Inc ,
Government Edicts Doctrine ,
Legislative Duties ,
Reaffirmation ,
Reversal ,
SCOTUS ,
Statutory Code ,
The Copyright Act
The U.S. Supreme Court unanimously held in Romag Fasteners, Inc. v. Fossil Group, Inc., Case No. 18-1233, that a plaintiff in a trademark infringement suit is not required to show willfulness to recover a defendant's profits...more
5/1/2020
/ § 1125(a) ,
§ 1125(c) ,
Appeals ,
Burden of Proof ,
Charge-Filing Preconditions ,
Compensatory Awards ,
Dilution ,
Lanham Act ,
Lost Profits ,
Remand ,
Remedies ,
Romag Fasteners v Fossil ,
SCOTUS ,
Trademark Infringement ,
Trademark Litigation ,
Trademarks ,
Vacated ,
Willful Infringement
Statistics from 2018 reveal that .03% of trademark applications were paper filed. As such, effective February 15, 2020, paper trademark filings are no longer an option. The United States Patent and Trademark Office ("USPTO")...more
2/20/2020
/ Electronic Filing ,
Email ,
New Rules ,
Trademark Application ,
Trademark Electronic Application System (TEAS) ,
Trademark Examination ,
Trademark Examination Guide ,
Trademark Ownership ,
Trademark Registration ,
Trademark Specimen ,
Trademark Trial and Appeal Board ,
Trademarks ,
USPTO
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
12/17/2019
/ 35 U.S.C. § 145 ,
American Rule ,
Appeals ,
Attorney's Fees ,
Civil Claims ,
Fee-Shifting ,
Lanham Act ,
Litigation Fees & Costs ,
Patent Act ,
Patent Applicants ,
Peter v NantKwest Inc ,
Prevailing Party ,
SCOTUS ,
Section 145 ,
Trademark Application ,
Trademark Trial and Appeal Board ,
Trademarks ,
USPTO
The U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling in Mission Product Holdings v. Tempnology, LLC holds interesting implications for both trademark law and bankruptcy law. Also, in Iancu v. Brunetti, the Court confirmed that trademarks cannot...more
Supreme Court rules that the Lanham Act's statutory bar against registering immoral or scandalous marks violates the First Amendment.
On June 24, 2019, in Iancu v. Brunetti, 588 U.S. __ (2019), the U.S. Supreme Court...more
6/27/2019
/ Appeals ,
Constitutional Challenges ,
First Amendment ,
Free Speech ,
Iancu v. Brunetti ,
Lanham Act ,
Reaffirmation ,
Reversal ,
Scandalous/Immoral Marks ,
SCOTUS ,
Trademark Registration ,
Trademarks ,
USPTO ,
Viewpoint Discrimination
In Fourth Estate Public Benefit Corporation v. Wall-Street.com, the U.S. Supreme Court tackled questions relating to copyright applications vs. copyright registrations, while in Rimini Street v. Oracle, the justices ruled on...more
3/15/2019
/ Appeals ,
Copyright ,
Copyright Exhaustion ,
Copyright Infringement ,
Copyright Litigation ,
Copyright Registration ,
Damages ,
Expert Fees ,
Fourth Estate Public Benefit Corp v Wall-Street.com LLC ,
Judicial Discretion ,
Litigation Fees & Costs ,
Prevailing Party ,
Remand ,
Reversal ,
Rimini Street Inc v Oracle USA Inc ,
SCOTUS ,
Solicitor General ,
Split of Authority ,
The Copyright Act ,
Uniformity
A unanimous U.S. Supreme Court rules that copyright owners must have a copyright registration before pursuing infringement claims in court.
Resolving a circuit split and a question facing any copyright owner wishing to...more
3/12/2019
/ Appeals ,
Copyright ,
Copyright Infringement ,
Copyright Registration ,
Fourth Estate Public Benefit Corp v Wall-Street.com LLC ,
Petition for Writ of Certiorari ,
SCOTUS ,
Solicitor General ,
Split of Authority ,
The Copyright Act ,
Uniformity
A unanimous ruling by the Supreme Court held that the word "full" was insufficient to justify awarding additional, nontaxable costs to the prevailing party.
Under the American Rule, the prevailing party ordinarily must bear...more
3/12/2019
/ American Rule ,
Copyright ,
Copyright Infringement ,
Copyright Litigation ,
Expert Fees ,
Judicial Discretion ,
Litigation Fees & Costs ,
Prevailing Party ,
Remand ,
Reversal ,
Rimini Street Inc v Oracle USA Inc ,
SCOTUS ,
Split of Authority ,
The Copyright Act
A party appealing a PTO decision must pay the PT0's expenses regardless of the applicant's success.
Booking.com successfully challenged the United States Patent and Trademark Office's ("PTO") refusal to register its mark...more
A federal appeals court finds that online music service ReDigi infringed Capitol Records' copyrights by allowing users to resell legally purchased iTunes files.
Digital music files may not be lawfully resold, according to...more
12/20/2018
/ Capitol Records ,
Copyright ,
Copyright Infringement ,
Digital Downloads ,
Digital Goods ,
First Sale Doctrine ,
iTunes ,
Music ,
Music Industry ,
ReDigi Inc ,
Secondary Markets ,
The Copyright Act
The Situation: In 2014, Converse filed a complaint with the International Trade Commission ("ITC"), alleging that numerous shoe manufacturers and retailers infringed the trade dress of its signature Chuck Taylor® All Star®...more
This decision should be a welcome development for patent applicants seeking review.
On July 27, 2018, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit issued its en banc opinion in NantKwest, Inc. v. Iancu, No. 16-1794...more
8/10/2018
/ 35 U.S.C. § 145 ,
Administrative Proceedings ,
American Rule ,
Attorney's Fees ,
En Banc Review ,
Litigation Fees & Costs ,
Patent Litigation ,
Patents ,
Split of Authority ,
Statutory Interpretation ,
Trademarks ,
USPTO
The Decision: The Federal Circuit vacated the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board's determination that "ZERO" is not generic and has acquired distinctiveness, and remanded.
The Reasoning: The Board erroneously framed the...more
In a much-anticipated ruling, the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit modified a preliminary injunction entered against Skechers on May 10, 2018, in adidas America, Inc. v. Skechers USA, Inc.
The ruling...more
When does inspiration turn into copyright infringement? The line is getting blurrier. Jones Day’s Meredith Wilkes, Anna Raimer, and Aryane Garansi explain how the Ninth Circuit’s decision—on “narrow grounds”—in the Blurred...more
4/11/2018
/ Appeals ,
Copyright ,
Copyright Infringement ,
Copyright Litigation ,
Evidence ,
Expert Testimony ,
Intellectual Property Protection ,
Judgment on the Merits ,
Jury Verdicts ,
Marvin Gaye ,
Motion for Summary Judgment ,
Music Industry ,
Pharrell Williams ,
Robin Thicke ,
Royalties ,
Rule 50 ,
Substantially Similar
The Decision: The Ninth Circuit upheld the district court decision finding Pharrell Williams and Robin Thicke's song "Blurred Lines" infringed the copyright in Marvin Gaye's song "Got To Give It Up."
The Reasoning: Based...more
3/28/2018
/ Appeals ,
Copyright ,
Copyright Infringement ,
Copyright Litigation ,
Damages ,
Jury Verdicts ,
Marvin Gaye ,
Music ,
Music Industry ,
Pharrell Williams ,
Robin Thicke
Trademarks will no longer be refused registration on the basis that they constitute immoral or scandalous matter. On December 15, 2017, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit unanimously ruled in In re Brunetti...more
On June 23, 2017, the Federal Circuit held in NantKwest v. Matal that patent applicants seeking review of a decision from the United States Patent and Trademark Office ("PTO") to the district court must pay the PTO's legal...more
Asian rock band The Slants is no longer "The Band Who Must Not Be Named," as they titled their most recent album. On June 19, 2017, the United States Supreme Court decided Matal v. Tam, striking a provision of the Lanham Act,...more
6/24/2017
/ Constitutional Challenges ,
Disparagement ,
First Amendment ,
Football ,
Free Speech ,
Government Speech Doctrine ,
Lanham Act ,
Matal v Tam ,
Music Industry ,
NFL ,
Popular ,
Redskins ,
SCOTUS ,
The Slants ,
Trademark Registration ,
Trademark Trial and Appeal Board ,
Trademarks ,
USPTO ,
Viewpoint Discrimination
In a decision likely to affect the fashion and design industries, on March 22, 2017, the United States Supreme Court clarified the test for determining when a design feature incorporated into a "useful article" (such as...more
3/29/2017
/ Cheerleaders ,
Copyright ,
Copyright Infringement ,
Fashion Design ,
Fashion Industry ,
Graphic Designs ,
SCOTUS ,
Section 101 ,
Separability ,
Sports Apparel ,
Star Athletica v Varsity Brands ,
Uniforms ,
Utilitarian Function
Trademark owners take note: Affidavits to renew your U.S. trademark registrations may be getting a closer look. On March 21, 2017, the United States Patent and Trademark Office ("USPTO") implemented a new rule aimed at...more
On February 27, 2017, the Supreme Court of the United States denied certiorari in Belmora LLC v. Bayer Consumer Care AG, 819 F.3d 697 (4th Cir. 2016), cert. denied, __ S. Ct. __, 2017 WL 737826 (U.S. Feb. 27, 2017) (No....more
3/7/2017
/ Appeals ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Denial of Certiorari ,
Foreign Persons ,
International Litigation ,
Lanham Act ,
Lexmark v Static Control Components ,
Mexico ,
Proximate Cause ,
Standing ,
Trademark Registration ,
Trademark Trial and Appeal Board ,
Trademarks ,
Unfair Competition ,
Unfair or Deceptive Trade Practices