The Olympics are coming! Now is a good time for brand owners who are planning promotional activities related to the Olympic games, or have endorsement agreements with Olympic athletes, to review the rules and make sure they...more
7/22/2024
/ Advertising ,
Ambush Marketing ,
Compliance ,
Corporate Branding ,
Intellectual Property Protection ,
International Olympic Committee (IOC) ,
Marketing ,
Olympics ,
Penalties ,
Sponsors ,
Trademarks
On November 16, 2021, Miramax, LLC (“Miramax”) brought claims of breach of contract, copyright infringement, trademark infringement, and unfair competition against director Quentin Tarantino. Miramax alleges that Tarantino...more
12/16/2021
/ Breach of Contract ,
Cease and Desist Orders ,
Contract Terms ,
Copyright ,
Copyright Infringement ,
Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT) ,
Film Industry ,
Intellectual Property Litigation ,
Intellectual Property Protection ,
Licensing Rights ,
Movies ,
Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs) ,
Ownership of Works ,
Quentin Tarantino ,
Trademark Infringement ,
Trademarks ,
Unfair Competition
In April 2021, big-box retailer Walmart Apollo, LLC (“Walmart”) filed a trademark opposition against Yeezy LLC’s (“Yeezy”) U.S. Trademark Application Serial No. 88/746444 for its sun rays design mark, shown below (“Yeezy’s...more
What do UPS and TAPATIO hot sauce have in common? Based on recent California Court filings, both companies are serious about protecting their trademarks from infringement by entities in the cannabis space.
In 2019, both...more
5/31/2019
/ Brand ,
Cannabidiol (CBD) oil ,
Cannabis Products ,
Dilution ,
Intellectual Property Protection ,
Marijuana ,
Marijuana Related Businesses ,
Misappropriation ,
Settlement Agreements ,
Tarnishment ,
Trademark Infringement ,
Trademark Litigation ,
Trademarks ,
Treble Damages ,
Unfair Competition ,
Willful Infringement
Supreme, the popular New York-based American streetwear brand, known by its iconic logo, was created by founder/CEO James Jebbia. Despite its highly successful brand recognition, the company (which operates under the...more
On March 6, 2018 the USPTO announced that it has started a pilot program that makes it easy to report specimens that have been digitally created, altered or fabricated. Third parties that believe that an application contains...more
In December, the Second Circuit ruled that My Other Bag (MOB) was not liable for infringing Louis Vuitton’s trademarks and copyrights because MOB’s bags were a parody of the luxury giant....more
1/31/2018
/ Attorney's Fees ,
Copyright ,
Copyright Infringement ,
Damages ,
Exceptional Case ,
Fashion Branding ,
Lanham Act ,
Louis Vuitton ,
Octane Fitness v. ICON ,
Parody ,
Trademark Infringement ,
Trademarks
On October 19, 2017 Hush Hush Sound Inc, Michael David, and Tyler Blake (collectively “Plaintiffs”) also known as the Electronic dance music duo “Classixx” filed suit in the District Court for the Central District of...more
Years after the Christian Louboutin v. Yves Saint Laurent battle over red soled shoes, trademark protection for color continues to be a hot topic. On August 22, 2017, the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (“TTAB”) held that...more
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (“CBP”), the primary federal agency responsible for securing America’s borders, is also charged with the protection of intellectual property rights and guarding against the infringement of...more
8/15/2017
/ China ,
Copyright ,
Copyright Infringement ,
Copyright Registration ,
Counterfeiting ,
Customs and Border Protection ,
Fashion Branding ,
Fashion Industry ,
Illegal Imports ,
Intellectual Property Protection ,
Recordation ,
Search & Seizure ,
Trademark Infringement ,
Trademark Registration ,
Trademarks
Airwair, the owner of the Dr. Martens brand, recently launched a series of lawsuits in the Northern District of California to enforce the trade dress of its “iconic boots and shoes.” One lawsuit was filed in October against...more
3/27/2017
/ Consent Order ,
Design Patent ,
Dilution ,
False Designation of Origin ,
Fashion Design ,
Fashion Industry ,
Inherently Distinctive ,
International Trade Commission (ITC) ,
Lanham Act ,
Permanent Injunctions ,
Secondary Meaning ,
Service Marks ,
Trade Dress ,
Trademark Infringement ,
Trademarks ,
Unfair Competition
Under U.S. trademark law, any person (including a celebrity) can obtain a trademark registration for their name if they can establish that the public recognizes the name as a source identifier for certain products or...more
In 2009, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office rejected shoe manufacturer Adidas’s application to trademark the phrase “ADIZERO,” due to a likelihood of confusion with an existing mark: “ADD A ZERO,” a clothing trademark held...more
11/21/2016
/ Adidas ,
Appeals ,
Commerce Clause ,
De Minimis Claims ,
Federal Trademark Register ,
Interstate Commerce ,
Lanham Act ,
Likelihood of Confusion ,
Popular ,
Reversal ,
Trademark Application ,
Trademark Trial and Appeal Board ,
Trademarks ,
Use in Commerce ,
USPTO
On Wednesday, November 9, 2016 the estate of Marilyn Monroe filed a complaint in the Southern District of New York against Fashion Central. The Monroe Estate claims that Fashion Central infringes its intellectual property...more
11/17/2016
/ Celebrities ,
Dilution ,
Fashion Design ,
Lanham Act ,
Marilyn Monroe ,
Misappropriation ,
Popular ,
Right of Publicity ,
Trademark Infringement ,
Trademarks ,
Unfair Competition ,
Unjust Enrichment
1. Ownership of marks -
Who may apply?
An application may be filed by any person or legal entity that uses or intends to use a mark in connection with goods sold or distributed, or services transacted, in United...more