In a fight involving sales of mattresses and alleged trash talking pertaining to those mattresses, the US Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit joined the Third, Fourth, Fifth, Sixth, Ninth and Federal Circuits in holding...more
In a dispute alleging that legendary rock band Led Zeppelin copied “Stairway to Heaven” from a song by a different band, the US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit vacated in part a judgment in favor of Led Zeppelin,...more
The US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit sustained statutory royalty rates set by the Copyright Royalty Board for certain web streaming services following a challenge to the rates by an independent...more
In a case involving the infringing download and distribution of plaintiff’s film through peer-to-peer BitTorrent networks, the US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit affirmed a district court’s dismissal of plaintiff’s...more
In a trademark dispute stemming from a 2011 viral video and internet meme titled “The Crazy Nastyass Honey Badger,” the US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit ruled in favor of the defendant greeting card companies,...more
In a decision examining the extent of copyright protection provided to certain data compilations, the US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit affirmed a summary judgment in favor of the defendant on copyright infringement...more
The US Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit found that the defendant’s use of the names “Old Taylor” and “the Former Old Taylor Distillery” (collectively, the Old Taylor names) to refer to its property and future bourbon...more
The US Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit affirmed a grant of summary judgment finding that a specific element from a television series—in this case, The Krusty Krab restaurant from SpongeBob SquarePants—can receive...more
The US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit issued a decision in the so-called “Monkey Selfies” case affirming the district court’s dismissal of claims brought by Naruto, a crested macaque, holding that the animal lacked...more
The US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit examined the extent to which copyright protection can be granted in the expression of an idea based on elements first found in nature, and finding only a “thin copyright” in the...more
In a dispute pertaining to copyright infringement of pornographic films created by the plaintiff, the US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit affirmed the district court’s grant of summary judgment in favor of a defendant...more
In a case that attracted 20 amici briefs, the US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit issued a blockbuster decision in the years-long battle between Oracle and Google over Google’s Android platform. The Court concluded...more
In a dispute concerning the famous Michael Jordan “Jumpman” logo owned by Nike, Inc., the US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit agreed with the district court that the Nike logo did not infringe any copyright in...more
In a multi-jurisdictional dispute between a band and a satellite radio provider, the US Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit adopted reasoning similar to that of the New York Court of Appeals (IP Update, Vol. 20, No. 3) in...more
Following the Supreme Court of the United States’ 2017 decision in Matal v. Tam (i.e., the Slants case) finding the proscription on the registration of disparaging trademarks under § 2(a) of the Lanham Act to be an...more
2/6/2018
/ Constitutional Challenges ,
Disparagement ,
First Amendment ,
Free Speech ,
Lanham Act ,
Matal v Tam ,
SCOTUS ,
The Slants ,
Trademark Registration ,
Trademark Trial and Appeal Board ,
Trademarks ,
USPTO
Two Federal Preemption Cases, One Consistent Outcome -
Two recent decisions from the Fourth and Fifth Circuits—with similar outcomes—have contributed further guidance and consistency on the issue of federal preemption with...more
In relation to a long-fought and contentious trademark dispute involving the COMIC CON mark, the US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit issued a brief but definitive opinion, finding that certain district-court-ordered...more
Affirming a grant of summary judgment in favor of copyright defendants, the US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit took up the “often litigated issue” of whether a stock photography agency has standing under the Copyright...more
The Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (TTAB) delivered a primer on demonstrating the acquired distinctiveness of product packaging or trade dress, including color marks, in refusing registration of a trademark application for...more
Examining the issue of trademark fair use, the US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit reversed a district court grant of summary judgment in favor of a promotional products company and remanded the case for reconsideration...more
In an action involving the popular film series The Purge, the US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit affirmed a district court denial of the defendants’ anti-SLAPP motion, holding that the plaintiff’s breach of...more
In an 8–0 decision, the Supreme Court of the United States affirmed an en banc panel of the US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit and found the disparagement clause of the Lanham Act to be facially unconstitutional...more
7/11/2017
/ Constitutional Challenges ,
Disparagement ,
First Amendment ,
Free Speech ,
Lanham Act ,
Matal v Tam ,
Music Industry ,
SCOTUS ,
The Slants ,
Trademark Registration ,
Trademark Trial and Appeal Board ,
Trademarks ,
USPTO
The US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit made a point to remind trademark litigants of the relevant laws and policies pertaining to trademark “genericide” when it sustained summary judgment in favor of ubiquitous search...more
In reversing a district court grant of summary judgment in favor of a social media platform, the US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit ordered a deeper look at the degree to which the common law of agency affects a safe...more
A unanimous decision from the Supreme Court of the United States in Matal v. Tam affirmed an en banc panel of the Federal Circuit and found the disparagement clause of the Lanham Act to be facially unconstitutional under the...more
6/22/2017
/ Constitutional Challenges ,
Disparagement ,
First Amendment ,
Free Speech ,
Lanham Act ,
Matal v Tam ,
SCOTUS ,
The Slants ,
Trademark Registration ,
Trademark Trial and Appeal Board ,
Trademarks ,
USPTO