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Appeals Supreme Court of the United States Trademark Litigation

Herbert Smith Freehills Kramer

Trademark Damages: Supreme Court Rejects Disgorgement of Non-Defendant Affiliate Profits

The United States Supreme Court issued a unanimous decision in Dewberry Engineers Inc. v. Dewberry Group, Inc. on Feb. 26, 2025, clarifying the scope of damages available under the Lanham Act in trademark infringement cases....more

Sunstein LLP

Supreme Court vacates $43 million trademark award for violating principle of corporate separateness in Dewberry Group

Sunstein LLP on

On February 26, 2025, in Dewberry Group v. Dewberry Engineers, the Supreme Court unanimously vacated a $43 million damages award for trademark infringement, ruling that the lower court improperly conflated the defendant with...more

Sunstein LLP

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

Sunstein LLP on

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

Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP

US Supreme Court: 'Defendant’s Profits' Are Limited to Named Defendants Under the Lanham Act

Under the Lanham Act, a plaintiff who prevails on a trademark infringement claim may be entitled to recover the “defendant’s profits” as damages. The Supreme Court in Dewberry Group, Inc. v. Dewberry Engineers Inc....more

Irwin IP LLP

Time To “Dew” It Again. 

Irwin IP LLP on

Dewberry Group, Inc., FKA Dewberry Capital Corp v. Dewberry Engineers Inc., No. 23-900, 604 U.S. (2025) - On February 26, 2025, the United States Supreme Court unanimously overturned a $43 million damages award arising out...more

McCarter & English, LLP

If You Want Damages for Trademark Infringement, Be Prepared to Do the Dew(berry)

Under federal trademark law, a winning trademark owner can seek a defendant’s profits from infringing use of the trademark. But just who is the “defendant” whose profits can be reached? Is it the corporate affiliate of the...more

A&O Shearman

Supreme Court Limits Scope Of Damages Awards In A Trademark Infringement Action

A&O Shearman on

On February 26, 2025, the Supreme Court of the United States issued a unanimous decision limiting the Lanham Act’s scope of damages in a trademark infringement action. The case involves a trademark dispute between two...more

Mintz - Intellectual Property Viewpoints

Whose Profits Are These, Anyway? Who Constitutes The Defendant For Purposes of Disgorgement Of Profits In A Trademark Infringement...

In a unanimous (and unsurprising) decision on Wednesday, the Supreme Court vacated an award of nearly $43 million in disgorged profits to a trademark infringement plaintiff because those profits were not attributable to the...more

Coblentz Patch Duffy & Bass

Only the Defendant’s Profits Are Recoverable: Supreme Court Vacates Nearly $43 Million Trademark Infringement Award that...

Key Takeaways - A plaintiff prevailing in a trademark infringement suit is often entitled to an award of the “defendant’s profits.” 15 U.S.C. §1117(a)....more

Fenwick & West LLP

SCOTUS Stands by Corporate Separateness, Overturns Nearly $43M Award in Trademark Dispute

Fenwick & West LLP on

The Supreme Court on February 26, 2025, overturned a nearly $43 million award granted in a decades long trademark dispute between two real estate companies. The unanimous ruling emphasized that under the Lanham Act section...more

Moritt Hock & Hamroff LLP

Supreme Court Upholds Principle Of Corporate Separateness In Vacating Award To Dewberry Engineers

n a decision that strongly endorsed the principle of corporate separateness – where a company’s affiliates are not financially responsible for the legal obligations of their parent – the U.S. Supreme Court unanimously...more

Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP

Supreme Court Limits Lanham Act Disgorgement to Named Defendants’ Profits

On February 26, 2025, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled unanimously in favor of the petitioner in Dewberry Group Inc. v. Dewberry Engineers Inc., holding that a disgorgement of “defendant’s profits” under the Lanham Act may...more

ArentFox Schiff

Sue Them All? SCOTUS Vacates $43 Million Trademark Judgment

ArentFox Schiff on

To plead, or not to plead. That is a question trademark infringement plaintiffs will need to carefully consider with their legal counsel when deciding which parties to name as defendants in a lawsuit and which legal arguments...more

Jenner & Block

Client Alert: US Supreme Court Rules Trademark Plaintiffs Cannot Recover Profits from Defendants’ Affiliates, Overturns $43M Award...

Jenner & Block on

On February 26, 2025, in a unanimous opinion, the US Supreme Court vacated a $43 million trademark infringement award and ruled that trademark plaintiffs cannot recover profits from defendants’ affiliates when those...more

Fox Rothschild LLP

The U.S. Supreme Court Unanimously Rules That Successful Trademark Plaintiffs Cannot Recover Profits From Named Defendants’...

Fox Rothschild LLP on

On February 26, 2025, the U.S. Supreme Court unanimously vacated a nearly $43 million award in a trademark dispute that raised the question of whether a defendant’s affiliates could be held liable for payment of a disgorged...more

Dorsey & Whitney LLP

The Supreme Court Update - February 26, 2025

Dorsey & Whitney LLP on

The Supreme Court of the United States issued two decisions today: Dewberry Group, Inc. v. Dewberry Engineers, Inc., No. 23-900: The Court held that in awarding the “defendant’s profits” to the prevailing plaintiff in a...more

Dorsey & Whitney LLP

SCOTUS Holds Affiliate Profits Not Available Under One Lanham Act Provision, But Leaves Door Open for Other Theories

Dorsey & Whitney LLP on

The United States Supreme Court issued a unanimous decision in Dewberry Group, Inc. v. Dewberry Engineers Inc., vacating a nearly $43 million profits award and remanding the case for further consideration. The Court concluded...more

Kilpatrick

6 Key Takeaways | Annual Update on Recent Trademark Case Law

Kilpatrick on

Kilpatrick partner Ted Davis recently presented his “Annual Update on Recent Trademark Case Law” at the firm’s 2025 Advanced Trademark Law Seminar in San Francisco....more

Moritt Hock & Hamroff LLP

Supreme Court Deciding Trademark Case With Broad Implications For The Principle Of Corporate Separateness

In August 2023, a federal appeals court upheld a district court case ruling that declined to apply the principle of corporate separateness – that corporations have no liability for their affiliates’ actions or obligations....more

Sunstein LLP

Wavy Baby Waves Goodbye to its Attempt at Humor

Sunstein LLP on

In August, Vans, a globally-known footwear and apparel company, and MSCHF, a Brooklyn-based art collective, settled their trademark and trade dress dispute, entering an agreement that permanently enjoins and restrains MSCHF...more

Erise IP

What’s Trending in Trademarks, October 2024: T.I., Tiny Win $71.5M Verdict for OMG Girlz, Second Circuit Holds Against 1-800...

Erise IP on

Every month, Erise’s trademark attorneys review the latest developments at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, in the courts, and across the corporate world to bring you the stories that you should know about: Third...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

Sterne, Kessler, Goldstein & Fox P.L.L.C.

Federal Circuit IP Appeals: Summaries of Key 2023 Decisions (8th Edition)

2023 saw a return to business as usual for the Federal Circuit. Oral arguments are once again in-person and open to the public, and the Court has resumed its former practice of holding occasional sittings outside of...more

McDermott Will & Schulte

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

McDermott Will & Schulte on

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

Seyfarth Shaw LLP

Courts and Brand Owners Struggling With SCOTUS Decision Limiting Ability to Police Against Foreign Trademark Infringement

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The U.S. Supreme Court’s end-of-term decision in Abitron v. Hetronic seems to have created more questions than answers about U.S. brand owners’ ability to leverage the federal Lanham Act in global trademark disputes. In the...more

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