It is a basic tenet of trademark law that rights are jurisdictional. Trademark owners only have rights in the mark in the jurisdictions in which they have registered (or, in some cases, used) the mark....more
A long legal battle over the right to use the “UGG” mark has may result in the end of a company’s right to the word “UGG” in connection with sheepskin shoes and accessories outside of Oceania....more
When, if ever, is it okay to use a trademark in U.S. commerce that is identical to another company’s mark used outside the U.S.? Courts have struggled with this issue for years, and the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office...more
As we previously reported, in January of this year, the China National Intellectual Property Administration (CNIPA) published its Draft 5th Amendment to the Chinese Trademark Law. See here. One of the proposed amendments no...more
Thank you for reading the August 2023 issue of Sterne Kessler's MarkIt to Market® newsletter. This month, we conclude our series that explores ways to lose trademark rights with an examination of naked licensing, discuss a...more
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
U.S. businesses selling abroad cannot enforce domestic trademarks against foreign entities selling infringing goods into the United States through strawmen, according to a recent ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court in...more
On March 21, the United States Supreme Court heard oral arguments in Abitron Austria GmbH v. Hetronic International, Inc. over whether the infringement provisions of the United States Trademark Act impose liability for...more
A trademark, according to the United States Patent and Trademark Office (“USPTO”), can be “any word, phrase, symbol, design, or a combination of these things that identifies your goods or services.” Can a body movement be...more
We reported here last summer the outcome of Coca-Cola Company’s petitions to cancel the registrations for the above-captioned marks owned by Meenaxi Enterprise, Inc. Meenaxi appealed the TTAB’s decision to cancel the...more