Does the Lanham Act’s restriction on registration of trademarks that include an individual’s name without the consent of such individual violate the Free Speech Clause of the First Amendment, even when the mark expresses...more
6/17/2024
/ First Amendment ,
Free Speech ,
Iancu v. Brunetti ,
Lanham Act ,
Matal v Tam ,
SCOTUS ,
Trademark Registration ,
Trademark Trial and Appeal Board ,
Trademarks ,
USPTO ,
Vidal v Elster
On July 18, 2023, the phrase “Taco Tuesday” was returned to the public after Taco John’s submitted a notice of abandonment for its TACO TUESDAY trademark registration before the United States Patent & Trademark Office’s...more
Can a party be held liable in the United States for trademark infringement based on use of a mark in other countries? In Abitron Austria GmbH et al. v. Hetronic Int’l, Inc., 600 U.S. __ (2023), the Supreme Court recently...more
7/7/2023
/ Abitron Austria GmbH v Hetronic International Inc ,
Extraterritoriality Rules ,
Foreign Sales ,
Intellectual Property Protection ,
Lanham Act ,
Likelihood of Confusion ,
SCOTUS ,
Trademark Infringement ,
Trademark Litigation ,
Trademarks ,
Use in Commerce
Can an alleged trademark infringer avoid the likelihood-of-confusion test by claiming its use is an “expressive work”? In Jack Daniel’s Properties, Inc. v. VIP Products LLC, 599 U.S. __ (2023), the Supreme Court recently...more
The Trademark Modernization Act (TMA) was signed into law on December 27, 2020, and the United States Patent & Trademark Office (USPTO) recently announced its final rules for implementing the TMA, the majority of which will...more
Recognizing the need for companies to quickly get products to market that might help combat the COVID-19 pandemic, the United States Patent & Trademark Office is now paving the way for shorter examination timelines for...more
Supreme Court Hits Reset on Patent Venue Law in TC Heartland -
In the recent TC Heartland LLC v. Kraft Foods Group Brands LLC decision, the Supreme Court reversed nearly thirty years of patent venue law and held that a...more
7/20/2017
/ Disparagement ,
First Amendment ,
Forum Shopping ,
Free Speech ,
Patent Exhaustion ,
Patent Infringement ,
Patent Litigation ,
Patents ,
Personal Jurisdiction ,
Principal Place of Business ,
Right of Publicity ,
SCOTUS ,
State of Incorporation ,
TC Heartland LLC v Kraft Foods ,
The Slants ,
Trademarks ,
Unified Patent Court ,
Venue
One of the most significant legal concerns for Internet service providers is the risk of exposure to liability for the copyright infringements of their users. The concern is not unreasonable. Because Internet service...more
Supreme Court Restricts the Extraterritorial Reach of U.S. Patent Law for Exported Goods -
On February 22, 2017, the Supreme Court in a landmark decision held that the supply of a single component of a multicomponent...more
4/10/2017
/ Cheerleaders ,
Co-Ownership ,
Component Parts Doctrine ,
Copyright ,
Copyright Litigation ,
Copyrightable Subject Matter ,
Extraterritoriality Rules ,
Fashion Design ,
Foreign Corporations ,
Germany ,
Grace Period ,
Graphic Designs ,
Laches ,
Life Technologies Corp v Promega Corp ,
Patent Infringement ,
Patent Litigation ,
Patents ,
SCOTUS ,
Section 101 ,
Star Athletica v Varsity Brands ,
Statutory Damages ,
The Copyright Act ,
Uniforms
FDA (Finally!) Issues New Regulations to Clarify Pharmaceutical Patent Litigation: How to Use Patent “Use Codes” -
October 6, 2016, the FDA issued a final rule implementing certain provisions of the Medicare...more
11/29/2016
/ Copyright ,
De Minimis Claims ,
Enforcement ,
Food and Drug Administration (FDA) ,
New Regulations ,
Patent Litigation ,
Patents ,
Pharmaceutical Industry ,
Pharmaceutical Patents ,
Popular ,
Trademarks ,
UK ,
UK Brexit
Supreme Court Abolished Federal Circuit's Test for Willfulness -
On June 13, 2016, in Halo Electronics, Inc. v. Pulse Electronics, Inc., 579 U.S. ___ (2016), the Supreme Court unanimously abrogated the Federal Circuit’s...more
8/13/2016
/ Abuse of Discretion ,
Appeals ,
Attorney's Fees ,
Authorship ,
Books ,
Burden of Proof ,
Collaboration ,
Copyright ,
Copyright Infringement ,
Employee Mobility ,
Enhanced Damages ,
EU ,
European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO) ,
European Union Trade Mark (EUTM) ,
Fee-Shifting ,
Film Industry ,
Halo v Pulse ,
Harmonization Rules ,
Kirtsaeng v. John Wiley & Sons ,
Objective Unreasonableness Standard ,
Patent Infringement ,
Patents ,
Preponderance of the Evidence ,
Prevailing Party ,
Remedies ,
SCOTUS ,
Screenplays ,
Seagate ,
Standard of Review ,
Trade Secrets ,
Trademark Registration ,
Trademarks ,
UK ,
UK Brexit ,
Unlawful Disclosure ,
Whistleblowers ,
Willful Infringement
The United Kingdom has voted by a narrow majority to leave the European Union (“Brexit”). But the process of Brexit will take time, and the implications for our clients’ businesses will also unfold over time. Our MoFo...more