News & Analysis as of

Lanham Act Appeals Trademark Litigation

McDermott Will & Emery

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

McDermott Will & Emery on

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 & Emery

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

McDermott Will & Emery on

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

Knobbe Martens

The Federal Circuit Grounds US SPACE FORCE Trademark Application

Knobbe Martens on

IN RE THOMAS D. FOSTER, APC, - Before Moore, Prost, and Stoll. Appeal from the United States Patent and Trademark Office. Section 2(a) of the Lanham Act bars registration of a pending application for a mark that falsely...more

Knobbe Martens

Coloring Within the Lines: The Genericness Test for Color Trademarks

Knobbe Martens on

IN RE: PT MEDISAFE TECHNOLOGIES - Before Prost, Clevenger, and Stark. Appeal from the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board. A proposed color mark was found generic where the relevant public perceived the color to be a common...more

Knobbe Martens

Not Lost in Translation: Federal Circuit Clarifies Application of the Doctrine of Foreign Equivalents

Knobbe Martens on

IN RE: VETEMENTS GROUP AG - Before Prost, Wallach, and Chen. Appeal from the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board. A party opposing application of the doctrine of foreign equivalents has the burden to show that the ordinary...more

McDermott Will & Emery

Jurisdiction Affirmed: Trademark Ripples Reach US Shores

McDermott Will & Emery on

Addressing for the first time the issue of whether a foreign intellectual property holding company is subject to personal jurisdiction in the United States, the US Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit reversed a district...more

BakerHostetler

Federal Circuit Reverses TTAB Decision Based on Dissimilar House Marks

BakerHostetler on

On June 13, the Federal Circuit reversed the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (TTAB or Board) nonprecedential decision finding no likelihood of confusion between opposer Château Lynch-Bages’ and applicant Château Angélus...more

Mayer Brown

Lost in Translation: The Doctrine of Foreign Equivalents in Trademark Law

Mayer Brown on

In this episode of The Upper Brand, Kristine Young and Rich Assmus discuss the recent Federal Circuit case regarding the doctrine of foreign equivalents in trademark law. They explore the concepts of descriptiveness and...more

McDermott Will & Emery

No Fairytale Ending for Consumer Opposition: RAPUNZEL Reinforces Lexmark Standing Limits

McDermott Will & Emery on

The US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit affirmed the Trademark Trial & Appeal Board’s dismissal of a trademark opposition brought by a consumer, holding that mere consumer interest is insufficient to establish...more

McDermott Will & Emery

Stylish but Generic: ‘VETEMENTS’ Can’t Dress Up as Trademark

McDermott Will & Emery on

The US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit affirmed the Trademark Trial & Appeal Board’s refusal to register the mark VETEMENTS for clothing and related retail services, finding that the mark was generic under the...more

McDermott Will & Emery

Up in Smoke: Statutory Trademark Damages Can Exceed Actual Damages

McDermott Will & Emery on

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

McDermott Will & Emery

False Connection: Post-Application Date Evidence Can Be Considered

McDermott Will & Emery on

The US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit affirmed the Trademark Trial & Appeal Board’s refusal to register a mark on the grounds of false connection, explaining that the false connection inquiry can include evidence...more

Fish & Richardson

No Space at the Trademark Office for US SPACE FORCE

Fish & Richardson on

In a rare precedential decision involving Section 2(a) of the Lanham Act, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit recently upheld a denial by the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (TTAB) of applications filed for US...more

Fenwick & West LLP

Ninth Circuit Prescribes New Hearing for Damages in AirDoctor Default Judgment

Fenwick & West LLP on

The plaintiff AirDoctor sued the defendant under the Lanham Act for advertising and selling filters for use in AirDoctor purifiers. While the defendant advertised its filters as “compatible” and “replacements” for the...more

McDermott Will & Emery

Damages on Default Judgment Not Barred by Absence of Precise Amount in Complaint

The US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit reversed and remanded a district court decision, allowing collection of actual damages in a default judgment where the complaint only sought damages “in an amount to be determined...more

McDermott Will & Emery

No Green Light to Register Color Mark for Medical Gloves

Addressing for the first time the test for determining whether a color mark is generic, the US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit adopted the Trademark Trial & Appeal Board’s Milwaukee test as the appropriate standard,...more

ArentFox Schiff

It’s Not Easy Being Green (If You Are a Color Trademark for Medical Gloves)

ArentFox Schiff on

In refusing registration of the color green for “chloroprene medical examination gloves,” the Federal Circuit adopted — for the first time — a legal test for genericness of color marks. The decision underscores the high...more

Stinson LLP

Penn State Victory Maintains Uneasy Status Quo in Sports Merchandising Industry

Stinson LLP on

Most major universities have developed extremely lucrative business empires by exploiting the use of their trademarks and trade dress on apparel and merchandise, among other things. They have done so on the theory that the...more

Jones Day

Gloves Off: Court Says No to Green Trademark Protection

Jones Day on

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit held that the test for determining whether a word mark is generic also applies to color marks....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

Fish & Richardson

Federal Circuit Finds Beer Trademark Application Nothing but "Chicken Scratch"

Fish & Richardson on

In yet another recent example of the need for care in establishing a full record when appealing the denial of a trademark application, on April 14, 2025, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit upheld the denial of...more

McDermott Will & Emery

Royal Play Penalty: No Standing in the End (Zone)

McDermott Will & Emery on

The US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit dismissed an appeal from the Trademark Trial & Appeal Board, finding that the appellant lacked standing because it failed to allege any actual and particularized injury. Michael...more

Knobbe Martens

Fireball Frenzy: When First Registering a Mark, Genericness of a Mark Is Determined at the Time of Registration

Knobbe Martens on

BULLSHINE DISTILLERY LLC v. SAZERAC BRANDS, LLC - Before Moore, Reyna and Taranto. Appeal from the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board. In assessing genericness, the TTAB considers how the mark was understood at the time of...more

Irwin IP LLP

Your “Chicken Scratch” May Be Confusing 

Irwin IP LLP on

In Re R.S. Lipman Brewing Co., LLC, 2025 WL 1099603 (Fed. Cir. Apr. 14, 2025) - Be careful when selecting a name for your product, otherwise you might find yourself cooked at the United States Patent and Trademark Office...more

McDermott Will & Emery

Opposers Beware: Your Own Mark May Not Be Protectable

McDermott Will & Emery on

The US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit affirmed the Trademark Trial & Appeal Board’s dismissal of an opposition to the registration of the marks IVOTERS and IVOTERS.COM while also noting that the US Patent &...more

191 Results
 / 
View per page
Page: of 8

"My best business intelligence, in one easy email…"

Your first step to building a free, personalized, morning email brief covering pertinent authors and topics on JD Supra:
*By using the service, you signify your acceptance of JD Supra's Privacy Policy.
- hide
- hide