U.S. trademark attorneys received a New Year’s surprise last month when the Supreme Court of the United States agreed to hear Iancu v. Brunetti, the case that should determine the availability of federal trademark...more
3/5/2019
/ Burden of Proof ,
Certiorari ,
Compelling Governmental Interest ,
Constitutional Challenges ,
Disparagement ,
First Amendment ,
Free Speech ,
Iancu v. Brunetti ,
Lanham Act ,
Lee v Tam ,
Petition for Writ of Certiorari ,
Scandalous/Immoral Marks ,
SCOTUS ,
Trademark Infringement ,
Trademark Invalidity ,
Trademark Registration ,
Trademark Trial and Appeal Board ,
Trademarks ,
USPTO
We jest! Because, of course, Vandelay Industries – famed import/export company referenced by Seinfeld character George Costanza’s (and owned by the multi-talented “Art Vandelay”) -- is fictitious. But for actual...more
News recently hit the wires that Grumpy Cat Ltd., the company behind the Grumpy Cat Internet “person”ality, was awarded over $700,000 in a trademark and copyright infringement lawsuit. The defendant was a licensee who was...more
2/17/2018
/ Contract Terms ,
Copyright ,
Copyright Infringement ,
Damages ,
Intellectual Property Protection ,
IP License ,
Marketing ,
Trademark Infringement ,
Trademark Registration ,
Trademarks ,
YouTube
January marks the 50th issue of Sterne Kessler's MarkIt to Market® newsletter. This issue discusses Olympic marks ahead of the upcoming winter games, covers new protection for certification marks in the EU, provides an update...more
The November 2017 issue of Sterne Kessler's MarkIt to Market® discusses another Ugg trademark dispute, pitfalls of holiday specific branding, "types" of protection for font and typeface designs, and lists the new gTLD Sunrise...more
The October 2016 issue of Sterne Kessler's MarkIt to Market® newsletter provides an update on the Redskins trademark case, discusses a recent TTAB ruling regarding ownership of families of marks, and announces the new gTLD...more
11/2/2016
/ Appeals ,
Disparagement ,
Domain Names ,
Federal Trademark Register ,
gTLD ,
Lanham Act ,
Petition for Writ of Certiorari ,
Redskins ,
Sunrise Periods ,
Trademark Infringement ,
Trademark Ownership ,
Trademark Registration ,
Trademark Trial and Appeal Board ,
Trademarks
Benny and Rafi Fine, also known as the Fine Brothers, are well-known YouTube® content producers – they publish videos that show groups of people watching and reacting to things. Some recent examples include Elders React to...more
Earlier this month, Macy's won a ruling against a company that revives out-of-use, but well-known brands. Strategic Marks LLC is in the business of reviving abandoned brands, sometimes referred to as "zombie" brands, using...more
For a mobile application developer, clearing the Apple® App Store's® often lengthy approval process and seeing the mobile application available for purchase may seem like the last necessary step to establish use of the name...more
Everyone knows that counterfeiting is bad business for brands – it weakens consumer confidence and brand loyalty, erodes goodwill, and creates liability issues -- but this month online retailer Etsy learned that...more
The Ninth Circuit’s recent decision in Moldex-Metric, Inc. v. McKeon Products, Inc. clarifies that even when a single color trade dress has a function, and even when the color is marketed as such, this fact alone does not...more