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Lanham Act Summary Judgment Trademarks

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

Loeb & Loeb LLP

Enos v. The Walt Disney Company

Loeb & Loeb LLP on

District court grants Disney’s motion for summary judgment, holding it did not infringe plaintiffs’ copyright in blue-eyed ukulele-playing turtle character, but rather independently created its own musical turtle character,...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

Fox Rothschild LLP

TTAB Practitioners Beware: TTAB Dismissals With Prejudice, But Without Judgment, Can Support A Claim Preclusion Defense

Fox Rothschild LLP on

In a recent precedential cancellation decision, the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (“Board”) partially granted Respondent’s motion for summary judgment, holding that the parties’ stipulation that prior proceedings between...more

Vorys, Sater, Seymour and Pease LLP

The Supreme Court and Intellectual Property in 2024-2025: What Was Decided, What Is To Come And What Was Declined

In wrapping up the 2023-24 term and embarking on the 2024-25 term, the Supreme Court was asked to decide a number of intellectual property cases. The Court issued several significant opinions in 2024 and has taken several...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

Rebel Libertarians Aren’t at Liberty to Violate Lanham Act

In a case that required the US Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit to articulate the boundary between the Lanham Act and the First Amendment when the trademark in question is the name of a political party, the Court found...more

Sheppard Mullin Richter & Hampton LLP

Divided 9th Circuit Says District Court Has Power to Adjudicate TM Applications

In BBK Tobacco & Foods LLP v. Cent. Coast Agric., Inc., 97 F.4th 668 (9th Cir. 2024), the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals held that federal district courts have power to adjudicate trademark applications pursuant to the Lanham...more

McDermott Will & Schulte

What’s Kühler Than Kühl? No Likelihood of Confusion

Addressing unfair competition claims under the Lanham Act, the US Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit concluded that no reasonable juror would confuse an alcohol distributer’s use of the word “kühl” with use of a similar...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

Functionality Dooms Alleged Trade Dress Protection

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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

Fenwick & West LLP

Bacardi Rum Can’t Be Tamed: Ninth Circuit Rules in Favor of Bacardi in Trademark Summary Judgment Ruling

Fenwick & West LLP on

In an interesting twist, the Ninth Circuit granted summary judgment to a defendant in a trademark infringement case in Lodestar v. Bacardi on April 21, 2022. Given the Ninth Circuit’s common refrain that “summary judgment is...more

McDermott Will & Schulte

First Sale Defense Bars Trademark Infringement Where Trademarked Component Is Adequately Disclosed

A US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit panel vacated a grant of summary judgment in favor of the plaintiff, holding that the first sale doctrine applies when a trademarked product is incorporated into a new product....more

McDermott Will & Schulte

Half-Baked Case: No Misappropriation or False Advertising Given Over-Broad Allegations

The US Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit affirmed a district court’s grant of summary judgment in favor of a defendant baker on a trade dress infringement claim and reversed the district court’s denial of the defendant...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

McDermott Will & Schulte

Don’t Count Your Lamborghinis Before Your Trademark is in Use

The US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit affirmed a grant of summary judgment, finding that a trademark registrant had alleged infringement of its trademark without having engaged in bona fide use of the trademark in...more

Dorsey & Whitney LLP

E-Commerce and Trademark Infringement: OSU Wins a Battle at the Sixth Circuit

Dorsey & Whitney LLP on

The Ohio State Buckeyes may have lost the college football national championship to Alabama earlier this year but OSU can take some consolation from its recent victory in a trademark case before the Sixth Circuit Court of...more

Dorsey & Whitney LLP

Fair Use Mashup Theory Ga-Fluppted by Ninth Circuit

Dorsey & Whitney LLP on

Just in time to steal ComicMix’s Christmas, the Ninth Circuit recently held that the bookmaker’s mashup story Oh, the Places You’ll Boldly Go! (which combines elements of the Dr. Seuss book Oh, the Places You’ll Go! with Star...more

McDermott Will & Schulte

Eye Don’t: No Counterfeiting Without Likelihood of Confusion

McDermott Will & Schulte on

Referring to the act of counterfeiting as “hard core” or “first degree” trademark infringement, the US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit for the first time confirmed that the Lanham Act requires a likelihood of confusion...more

Fox Rothschild LLP

Judge Noreika Denies Defendant’s Motion For Partial Reconsideration Of Ruling On The Parties’ Cross-Motions For Summary Judgment...

Fox Rothschild LLP on

By Memorandum Order entered by The Honorable Maryellen Noreika in New Balance Athletics, Inc. v. USA New Bunren International Co. Ltd., LLC, Civil Action No. 17-1700 (MN), the Court denied Defendant New Bunren’s motion for...more

Troutman Pepper Locke

Diamonds are Forever, but Tiffany’s $21M Trademark Win is Not

Troutman Pepper Locke on

A federal appeals court issued its opinion on August 17th in Tiffany & Co. v. Costco Wholesale Corp., vacating a $21 million judgment against Costco Wholesale Corp. Costco had marketed unbranded diamond engagement rings...more

McDermott Will & Schulte

Double Meaning Can Make Mark Distinctive

The US Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit reversed a district court’s grant of summary judgment invalidating a service mark for lacking distinctiveness, finding that a reasonable jury could understand the mark to...more

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