The Supreme Court on February 26, 2025, overturned a nearly $43 million award granted in a decades long trademark dispute between two real estate companies. The unanimous ruling emphasized that under the Lanham Act section...more
3/4/2025
/ Affiliates ,
Appeals ,
Corporate Governance ,
Corporate Misconduct ,
Dewberry Group Inc v Dewberry Engineers Inc ,
Disgorgement ,
Intellectual Property Litigation ,
Lanham Act ,
SCOTUS ,
Trademark Infringement ,
Trademark Litigation ,
Trademarks
In a closely monitored appeal, a panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit unanimously upheld a $56 million damages award against beverage company Molson Coors in Stone Brewing Co., LLC v. Molson Coors Beverage...more
1/16/2025
/ Advertising ,
Appeals ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Damages ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Intellectual Property Litigation ,
Intellectual Property Protection ,
Popular ,
Trademark Infringement ,
Trademark Litigation ,
Trademarks ,
Unfair Competition
The Supreme Court’s June 29, 2023, decision in Abitron Austria GMBH v. Hetronic Int’l, Inc., No. 21-1043, ended decades of circuit splits on the standard for determining the extraterritorial reach of the Lanham Act (see our...more
7/14/2023
/ Abitron Austria GmbH v Hetronic International Inc ,
Extraterritoriality Rules ,
Foreign Jurisdictions ,
Foreign Sales ,
Intellectual Property Litigation ,
Intellectual Property Protection ,
International Trademark Protection ,
Lanham Act ,
SCOTUS ,
Trademark Infringement ,
Trademark Litigation ,
Trademarks ,
Use in Commerce
On June 8, 2023, the United States Supreme Court published its long-awaited decision in Jack Daniel’s Properties Inc. v. VIP Products LLC—a trademark dispute between whiskey maker Jack Daniel’s and VIP Products, the...more
Circuit courts have struggled for decades to adopt a uniform approach for when to apply the Lanham Act extraterritorially. That struggle may end soon. In the Abitron Austria case, the Supreme Court is set to clarify the scope...more
In an interesting twist, the Ninth Circuit granted summary judgment to a defendant in a trademark infringement case in Lodestar v. Bacardi on April 21, 2022. Given the Ninth Circuit’s common refrain that “summary judgment is...more
A petition for writ of certiorari pending before the U.S. Supreme Court asks the Court to decide whether a plaintiff must prove willful infringement to obtain an award of a trademark infringer’s profits for a violation of 15...more
5/16/2019
/ Appeals ,
Calculation of Damages ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Damages ,
Fashion Design ,
Patent Infringement ,
Patent Litigation ,
Patents ,
Petition for Writ of Certiorari ,
Profits ,
Remand ,
Romag Fasteners v Fossil ,
SCOTUS ,
Split of Authority ,
Trademark Infringement ,
Trademark Litigation ,
Trademarks ,
Willful Infringement
For the first time since it began balancing the competing interests of trademark plaintiffs and creators of expressive works, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit held this month in Gordon v. Drape Creative that...more
In a move that will likely benefit game developers, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit explicitly held that First Amendment protection extends to use of third-party trademarks in the commercial promotion of an...more
11/30/2017
/ Appeals ,
Arrangement and Promotion ,
Artistic Works ,
Commercial Use ,
First Amendment ,
Gaming ,
Intellectual Property Protection ,
Music Industry ,
Summary Judgment ,
Television Shows ,
Trademark Infringement ,
Trademark Litigation ,
Trademarks ,
Twentieth Century Fox ,
Video Games
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit reaffirmed its commitment to the rule that willfulness is a prerequisite for disgorgement of a trademark infringer’s profits in Stone Creek v. Omnia Italian Design, Case No....more
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit clarified the requirements for pleading and establishing a trademark infringement claim under a “reverse confusion” theory in Marketquest Group v. BIC, Case No. 15-55755 (9th...more
It’s Dangerous to Go Alone! Take This.
Intellectual Property Tips for the Esports Industry -
With the annual Game Developers Conference spectacular in our rearview mirror, and the NBA’s partnership with Take-Two to launch...more
4/25/2017
/ Architectural Copyrights ,
Commercial Use ,
Copyright Infringement ,
Digital Media ,
eSports ,
Intellectual Property Protection ,
Inter Partes Review (IPR) Proceeding ,
Internet ,
Logos ,
Name and Likeness ,
Patent Infringement ,
Patent Trial and Appeal Board ,
Popular ,
Right of Publicity ,
Trade Secrets ,
Trademark Application ,
Trademark Infringement ,
USPTO ,
Video Games ,
Virtual Reality
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit recently affirmed the Southern District of New York’s order on summary judgment that My Other Bag’s canvas tote bags do not dilute or infringe Louis Vuitton’s trademarks for...more
12/28/2016
/ Appeals ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Fashion Branding ,
Fashion Industry ,
Intellectual Property Protection ,
Lanham Act ,
Louis Vuitton ,
Parody ,
Summary Judgment ,
Trademark Infringement ,
Trademark Litigation ,
Trademarks ,
Young Lawyers
In a dilution claim, a trademark owner asserts that their famous mark is entitled to protection from use that causes harm to the mark’s reputation or distinctiveness. In effect, the trademark owner is saying that the mark is...more
You’ve selected a unique trademark, marketed and sold products under the brand, and continue to build up a base of satisfied customers. But then a new company emerges with a very similar trademark, piggybacking on your...more
11/22/2016
/ Brand ,
Consumer Confusion ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Intellectual Property Protection ,
Internet ,
Keyword Search ,
Likelihood of Confusion ,
Online Commentary ,
Online Platforms ,
Popular ,
Search Terms ,
Trademark Infringement ,
Trademarks ,
Young Lawyers
On October 24, 2016, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit after an en banc rehearing in Sunearth, Inc. v. Sun Earth Solar Power Co., LTD., adopted the Octane Fitness standard for determining whether a case is...more
10/26/2016
/ Abuse of Discretion ,
Appeals ,
Attorney's Fees ,
Exceptional Case ,
Lanham Act ,
Octane Fitness v. ICON ,
Popular ,
Preponderance of the Evidence ,
Prevailing Party ,
Standard of Review ,
Totality of Circumstances Test ,
Trademark Infringement ,
Trademarks
Late last week, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit determined a court had jurisdiction to decide a trademark lawsuit filed by a U.S. grocery store against a Canadian reseller where the products at issue were only...more
8/31/2016
/ Appeals ,
Canada ,
Comity ,
Dismissals ,
Extraterritoriality Rules ,
Grocery Stores ,
International Litigation ,
Lanham Act ,
Reputational Injury ,
Reversal ,
Subject Matter Jurisdiction ,
Trade Dress ,
Trademark Infringement ,
Trademarks ,
Trader Joes ,
Unfair Competition ,
Use in Commerce
This week, the Supreme Court issued an important ruling that will significantly impact the way parties handle trademark disputes in the United States. The opinion in B&B Hardware, Inv. v. Hargis Industries, Inc., 575 U.S....more