News & Analysis as of

Appeals First Amendment Trademark Litigation

Loeb & Loeb LLP

Hara v. Netflix, Inc.

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Ninth Circuit affirms dismissal of Lanham Act claims regarding use of drag queen Vicky Vox’s image and likeness in animated Netflix show and teaser trailer, holding, under Rogers test, that use was artistically relevant to...more

Sunstein LLP

Bad Spaniels on Remand: Parody Provides an Escape from Infringement But Not From Dilution

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The dispute at issue in Jack Daniel’s arises from a conflict between the well-known whiskey company and a dog toy company (VIP) regarding VIP’s unauthorized use of Jack Daniel’s trademarks and trade dress in connection with a...more

Sunstein LLP

Trademarks & The First Amendment Webinar Recap

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At our webinar, "Trademarks & The First Amendment," featuring litigators Lisa Tittemore and Katherine Soule, we promised to provide an update regarding the status of the injunction in the VIP Products v. Jack Daniel’s case....more

Venable LLP

Out of the Doghouse? Jack Daniel's Marks Tarnished but Not Infringed by Bad Spaniels Toy

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On January 23, 2025, the United States District Court for the District of Arizona issued a final decision ending the intensely disputed, decade-long litigation between Jack Daniel's Properties, Inc. and VIP Products LLC....more

Proskauer - Minding Your Business

Ninth Circuit Provides Further Guidance on Trademark Lawsuits Involving “Expressive Works”

We previously discussed the United States Supreme Court’s June 2023 Jack Daniel’s Properties, Inc. v. VIP Products, LLC decision, which altered the way the “Rogers test,” a doctrine designed to protect First Amendment...more

Dorsey & Whitney LLP

Wavy Baby’s Shoes Not Entitled to Special First Amendment Protections

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40 years ago, I was the new kid in 6th grade – truly a terrible age in a young girl’s life to try and “fit in” at a new elementary school in a small town. But, one of my best memories from that year was procuring my first...more

McDermott Will & Schulte

Parody of Iconic Sneaker Isn’t Entitled to Heightened First Amendment Protection

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The US Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit upheld a temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction enjoining use of a trademark and trade dress associated with an iconic sneaker design over a First Amendment...more

Bradley Arant Boult Cummings LLP

What’s in a Name? Too Much to Trademark According to the USPTO

With the U.S. Supreme Court beginning a new session, many are wondering what new issues the Court will address this term. One case the Court is scheduled to hear involves the relationship between the Lanham Act and First...more

Woods Rogers

What Barbenheimer Can Teach Us About Intellectual Property

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Barbenheimer is a new term for consecutively watching the movies “Barbie” and “Oppenheimer.”  In honor thereof, we present the Barbenheimer Legal Alert. Did you know Mattel sued, and lost, to stop the “Barbie Girl” song?...more

Venable LLP

Eleventh Circuit Affirms MTV Floribama Shore Does Not Infringe Flora-Bama Trademark

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The United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit recently affirmed dismissal of a trademark infringement lawsuit against the producers of MTV Floribama Shore in MGFB Properties, Inc. v. Viacom Inc., 54 F.4th 670...more

McDermott Will & Schulte

On the Border of Art and Trademark: First Amendment Trumps the Lanham Act

The US Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit weighed trademark rights against free speech considerations and found that the First Amendment protected use of an artistic work that was not deliberately misleading. MGFB...more

McDermott Will & Schulte

First Amendment Punches Out Alleged Lanham Act Violation

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Addressing the balance between trademark rights under the Lanham Act and the First Amendment right to protected expression, the US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit affirmed a district court judgment finding that the...more

McDermott Will & Schulte

Supreme Court to Consider First Amendment Protection for Parody Dog Toy

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The Supreme Court of the United States has agreed to consider the scope of protection afforded by the First Amendment to commercial parody products that feature the unauthorized use of another party’s trademark(s). Jack...more

McDermott Will & Schulte

“TRUMP TOO SMALL” Trademark Decision Leaves Big Questions

Revisiting jurisprudence touching on the Lanham Act and the First Amendment from the Supreme Court’s decisions in Matal v. Tam and Iancu v. Brunetti, the US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit held that applying Sec....more

Fenwick & West LLP

The First Amendment Trumps Another Restriction on Trademark Registrations

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On February 24, 2022, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, in In Re: Elster, overturned the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board’s (TTAB) refusal to grant a trademark registration on the phrase “TRUMP TOO SMALL” for...more

Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP

Video Gaming / E-Gaming Law Update - March 2020

The use of third-party trademarks in video games is not a new phenomenon. In fact, conflicts between game developers and trademark owners have existed for almost as long as the medium itself.1 Now, however, as games continue...more

Fenwick & West LLP

Honey Badger Don’t Care, but the Lanham Act Might - Court Limits First Amendment Protection Against Trademark Claims

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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

Ladas & Parry LLP

Refusal To Register Scandalous And Immoral Trademarks Ruled As Unconsitutional By Federal Circuit

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Following the Supreme Court’s ruling in In re Tam that a refusal to register disparaging trademarks is an unconstitutional violation of freedom of speech reported on June 19, 2017, the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit...more

Fenwick & West LLP

Good News for Game Developers: Court Extends Protections for Using Others’ Trademarks in the Advertising of Artistic Works

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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

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