News & Analysis as of

Lanham Act Trademarks Trade Dress

Troutman Pepper Locke

Is My Guitar Pedal a Klone or a Counterfeit? — No Infringement Intended Podcast

Troutman Pepper Locke on

In this episode, Austin Padgett and Rusty Close venture into the dynamic world of guitar pedals, focusing on the iconic Klon Centaur and its creator's legal showdown with Behringer's Centaur Overdrive. While many Klon...more

Proskauer Rose LLP

Three Point Shot - August 2025

Proskauer Rose LLP on

Nike and Sneaker Customizer Lace Up a Settlement - On June 18, 2025, Nike, Inc. (“Nike”) and Dominic Ciambrone (“Ciambrone”), founder of the shoe customization outfit, The Shoe Surgeon, entered into a confidential...more

Seyfarth Shaw LLP

Papa’s Got a Brand New Bag, and it Might be Infringing – Cannabis Companies Clash Over Trademarks for Storage Bags

Seyfarth Shaw LLP on

IP cases in the cannabis industry are lighting up court dockets more and more. In a new case with potential for serious baggage, Kinzie Advanced Polymers, LLC (“Kinzie”) filed a federal lawsuit against a group of...more

Fish & Richardson

Green Glove Trademark Application Gets Red Light From Federal Circuit

Fish & Richardson on

In a precedential decision, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit recently blessed the test used by the U.S. Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (TTAB) for denying registration to PT Medisafe Technologies for a...more

McDermott Will & Schulte

RAW Confusion? No Error Where Trial Court Declines to Clarify Agreed Jury Instruction

The US Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit affirmed a district court’s jury verdict that found trade dress infringement and liability under state deceptive practices law, and the court’s order entering a nationwide...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

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

Venable LLP

Out of the Doghouse? Jack Daniel's Marks Tarnished but Not Infringed by Bad Spaniels Toy

Venable LLP on

On January 23, 2025, the United States District Court for the District of Arizona issued a final decision ending the intensely disputed, decade-long litigation between Jack Daniel's Properties, Inc. and VIP Products LLC....more

McDermott Will & Schulte

Trade Dress Requires Separate Articulation and Distinctiveness Requirements

The US Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit vacated and remanded a district court’s dismissal of a complaint for trade dress infringement and unfair competition, finding that the district court erred in requiring the...more

Pillsbury - Internet & Social Media Law Blog

Bad Spaniels III: The Paradox of Parody in Trademark Cases Ex-Rogers

After a decade of litigation and a pivotal Supreme Court ruling from 2023, the legal battle between Jack Daniel’s and VIP Products has taken yet another turn, this time back in favor of Jack Daniel’s. On remand from the...more

McDermott Will & Schulte

Dog Toy Maker in the Doghouse (Again) for Tarnishing Jack Daniel’s Marks

Addressing this case for the third time, the US District Court for the District of Arizona found on remand that Jack Daniel’s was entitled to a permanent injunction after finding that VIP Products’ “Bad Spaniels” dog toy...more

Baker Donelson

Ruling Affirmed: Redemption Diluted Bulleit's Bottle Design

Baker Donelson on

The Second Circuit issued a ruling on May 28, 2024, in a trade dress case, affirming the district court's decision that Redemption Whiskey diluted the trademark and trade dress rights of Bulleit Whiskey since Redemption's...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

Dorsey & Whitney LLP

Wavy Baby’s Shoes Not Entitled to Special First Amendment Protections

Dorsey & Whitney LLP on

40 years ago, I was the new kid in 6th grade – truly a terrible age in a young girl’s life to try and “fit in” at a new elementary school in a small town. But, one of my best memories from that year was procuring my first...more

Womble Bond Dickinson

The IP of Everything Podcast - Episode 22 - The IP of Dog Toys

Womble Bond Dickinson on

Explore the legal intricacies of dog toy trademarks such as Chewy Vuitton and Bad Spaniels. Uncover key cases, including a pivotal Supreme Court showdown, with implications for both canines and intellectual property at large....more

Katten Muchin Rosenman LLP

Can Significant Sales Be the Fast Track to Trade Dress Protection? - Kattison Avenue/Katten Kattwalk | Issue 3

When a retail brand has a consistent, unique look and seeks enforcement against a too-similar competitor or a brash counterfeiter, trade dress protection under the Lanham Act provides the muscle. But part of what makes trade...more

Vondran Legal

Proper grounds to cancel another companies trademark

Vondran Legal on

In business, trademarks are everything. It's how consumers come to know, love and trust your brand. It's a valuable corporate asset, and many disputes can arise of name rights with the explosion of e-commerce and the...more

Stark & Stark

Jack Daniels v. Bad Spaniels: Parody and First Amendment Protections Do Not Shield Users of Expressive Commercial...

Stark & Stark on

Seeing an opportunity to capitalize on comedic freedom of speech and parodistic liberties (think Weird Al Yankovic and Aqua’s Barbie Girl hit song), a pet toy maker decided to create a chewable, squeaky dog toy shaped like...more

McDermott Will & Schulte

Just How Similar Must Competing Marks Be to Survive Dismissal?

After a de novo review, the US Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit affirmed in part and reversed in part a district court’s motion to dismiss, finding the competing marks sufficiently similar to avoid dismissal, and the...more

McDermott Will & Schulte

Watermelon Sugar: Candy Shape and Color Deemed Functional

The US Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit upheld a district court’s decision that a candymaker cannot trademark the shape and colors of watermelon candy, finding that the combined colors and shape of the candy are...more

ArentFox Schiff

Supreme Court Puts a Leash on Parody Defense in ‘BAD SPANIELS’ Trademark Infringement Case

ArentFox Schiff on

The US Supreme Court rejected First Amendment defenses raised by the maker of whiskey bottle-shaped dog chew toys branded BAD SPANIELS based on claims of trademark infringement and dilution of JACK DANIEL’S marks. ...more

International Lawyers Network

Is the Legal Test for Expressive Use of a Trademark on The Rocks? Jack Daniel’s Prevails at the Supreme Court

The Bottom Line - The U.S. Supreme Court recently decided that, when using another’s trademark “as a designation of source for the infringer’s own goods,” one is not entitled to a First Amendment defense even if the use...more

WilmerHale

Supreme Court Miniseries: Zero Spoof Whiskey

WilmerHale on

In the Public Interest is excited to present a miniseries examining notable decisions recently issued by the United States Supreme Court. The first episode in the miniseries welcomes WilmerHale Partner Thomas Saunders, who...more

Weintraub Tobin

Podcast - The Briefing by the IP Law Blog: Bad Spaniels in the Doghouse – Jack Daniels Prevails in Trademark Fight

Weintraub Tobin on

The U.S. Supreme Court provided clarification on the application of the Rogers test in relation to Jack Daniels v. VIP Products. Scott Hervey and Jamie Lincenberg talk about this ruling on this episode of The Briefing by the...more

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

MarkIt to Market® - June 2023: News Flash: Trademark Infringement is No Laughing Matter

The Bad Spaniels and MetaBirkin cases clarify that artistic expression is no foolproof defense to trademark infringement. Brand owners welcomed the decision the US Supreme Court rendered in Jack Daniel's Properties Inc....more

74 Results
 / 
View per page
Page: of 3

"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