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Appeals Summary Judgment Trademark Litigation

McDermott Will & Schulte

Clean bill of health: Only domestic activities count when analyzing likelihood of confusion

Affirming a summary judgment decision finding no trademark infringement under the Lanham Act, the US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit determined that the district court properly focused on domestic activity with regard...more

McDermott Will & Schulte

Don’t walk away: Trademark owner can’t bring infringement suit against co-owner

The US Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit upheld a district court’s summary judgment decision that a co-owner of a trademark cannot bring infringement or dilution claims under the Lanham Act against other co-owners or...more

Ervin Cohen & Jessup LLP

No “Sale,” No Trademark: Ninth Circuit Dismisses “WallStreetBets” Founder’s Infringement Claim Against Reddit for Lack of...

On June 11, 2025, in likely the most significant ruling of the longstanding feud between the social media website, Reddit, Inc., and the founder of its notorious “WallStreetBets” subreddit community, Jaime Rogozinski, the...more

McDermott Will & Schulte

Up in Smoke: Statutory Trademark Damages Can Exceed Actual Damages

Addressing a jury’s statutory damages award that surpassed the plaintiffs’ actual damages, the US Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit affirmed the district court’s denial of the defendant’s motion for judgment as a...more

Harris Beach Murtha PLLC

Fourth Circuit Confirms: Physical Distance Does Not Avoid Trademark Confusion

The Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals recently issued a decision confirming that using similar names for businesses in the same industry can result in a likelihood of confusion despite the physical distance of the entities. In...more

McDermott Will & Schulte

When Analyzing Likelihood of Confusion, It’s Not Just Location, Location, Location

The US Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit vacated a district court’s decision finding no infringement that focused on only the geographic distance between the physical locations of the two users without considering the...more

McDermott Will & Schulte

Chickening Out: Reason for Trademark Abandonment Irrelevant Without Proof of Intent to Resume

The US Court of Appeals for the First Circuit affirmed a district court’s summary judgment decision finding that the prior owner of a trademark for fresh chicken had abandoned the mark by failing to use it for three years and...more

McDermott Will & Schulte

Taking the High Road: Ambiguity Regarding “Versions” of Beer Precludes Summary Judgment

The US Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit affirmed a district court’s summary judgment denial and determination that the definition of “beer” (which encompassed “other versions and combinations” of beer and malt...more

McDermott Will & Schulte

All That Glitters: Use of Registered Mark To Describe Watch Color Was Fair Use

The US Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit affirmed a district court’s grant of summary judgement to a luxury-watchmaker defendant, holding that its use of a registered and incontestable trademarked term was fair use...more

Ladas & Parry LLP

New York Court Sides with PepsiCo on Remand in Ongoing Rise Brewing Dispute

Ladas & Parry LLP on

In Riseandshine Corporation v PepsiCo Inc (SDNY-1-21-cv-06324), plaintiff Riseandshine Corporation, doing business as Rise Brewing, brought three federal and two state claims relating to trademark infringement and unfair...more

McDermott Will & Schulte

Disgorgement of Profits Appropriate Remedy for Breach of Contract, Trademark Infringement

In a trademark infringement and breach of contract case involving real estate companies with a shared name, the US Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit affirmed summary judgment in favor of the trademark owner, including...more

McDermott Will & Schulte

Remedies as Big as Your Bamba

Following the district court’s finding of trademark infringement on summary judgment, the US Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit affirmed the district court’s subsequent award of profits, costs and attorneys’ fees in favor...more

Woods Rogers

What Barbenheimer Can Teach Us About Intellectual Property

Woods Rogers on

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

McDermott Will & Schulte

Elevate the $: Geographic Isolation Helps Defeat Trademark Infringement Claim

In a case between similarly named banks, the US Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit confirmed expert disclosure requirements, conducted a de novo likelihood of confusion analysis and ultimately upheld a finding of no...more

McDermott Will & Schulte

On the Road Again: Alternative Designs May Impact Trade Dress Functionality Analysis

The US Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit reversed and remanded a summary judgment ruling, finding that there were genuine disputes of material fact regarding whether the plaintiff’s alleged trade dress was functional and...more

Ladas & Parry LLP

Fourth Circuit Confirms That ‘Gruyere’ is Generic for Cheese

Ladas & Parry LLP on

The appellants, Interprofession du Gruyère and Syndicat Interprofessionnel du Gruyère, are two consortiums, Swiss and French, that regulate use of the term ‘gruyere’ to refer only to cheeses produced in the Gruyère district...more

McDermott Will & Schulte

The Fondues and Don’ts of Certification Marks

The US Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit affirmed a summary judgment grant in favor of the opposers of a certification mark application for the trademark GRUYERE to designate cheese that originates in the Gruyère region...more

Ladas & Parry LLP

Gruyere Cheese is Gruyere Cheese... Even in the United States

Ladas & Parry LLP on

On March 3rd, the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit in Virginia upheld a ruling that cheese labeled GRUYERE can be used to legally describe cheese made from outside the Gruyere region of Switzerland and...more

McDermott Will & Schulte

I Know That Brand . . . Or Do I? Reviewing the Eleventh Circuit’s Likelihood of Confusion Analysis

The US Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit reversed and remanded a district court’s summary judgment ruling finding no likelihood that consumers might be confused as to any relationship between competitors operating in...more

McDermott Will & Schulte

Functionality Dooms Alleged Trade Dress Protection

McDermott Will & Schulte on

The US Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit affirmed summary judgment of noninfringement in a trade dress suit, finding that the trade dress was functional and the attorneys’ fee award—as diminished by the district...more

McDermott Will & Schulte

Veil Piercing Under Lanham Act Requires Specific Showing of Liability

The US Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit reversed a district court decision granting summary judgment of liability under the Lanham Act, finding that the plaintiffs failed to apply the correct standards for piercing...more

McDermott Will & Schulte

No Harm, No Foul: No False Advertisement Where Trade Association Failed to Show Injury

The US Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit affirmed a district court’s grant of summary judgment in favor of a home inspector association on a false advertising claim brought by a competitor, finding no evidence of injury...more

McDermott Will & Schulte

Delay in Enforcing Trademark Measured from When Infringement Became Actionable

Addressing laches and progressive encroachment, the US Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit reversed and remanded a district court’s grant of summary judgment based on laches because the district court failed to “conduct a...more

McDermott Will & Schulte

Déjà vu Decision on Likelihood of Confusion

The US Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit affirmed a district court’s dismissal of a trademark suit that was essentially identical to a previous lawsuit that was dismissed based on a finding of lack of confusion....more

McDermott Will & Schulte

Greek God or Continent? Defining “Confusing Similarity” under the Anti-Cybersquatting Consumer Protection Act

Examining whether a registered mark and a domain name were confusingly similar under the Anti-Cybersquatting Consumer Protection Act (ACPA), the US Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit affirmed the district court’s grant of...more

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