News & Analysis as of

Likelihood of Confusion Trademark Registration Appeals

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

Knobbe Martens

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

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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 

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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

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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

McDermott Will & Emery

Zone of Natural Expansion Is a Shield, Not a Sword

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The US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit upheld a Trademark Trial & Appeal Board decision to partially cancel trademarks, ruling that an opposition challenger could not use the zone of natural expansion doctrine to...more

McDermott Will & Emery

No Bull: Historically Generic Term Can Become Non-Generic

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The US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit affirmed Trademark Trial & Appeal Board rulings, finding that a previously generic term was not generic at the time registration was sought because at that time the mark, as...more

McDermott Will & Emery

Lager Than Life: $56 Million Verdict in Beer Trademark Dispute Still on Tap

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The US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit upheld a $56 million trial verdict in a trademark dispute, finding that the evidence supported the jury’s conclusion that a beer company’s rebranding of one its beers infringed a...more

McDermott Will & Emery

Ghostly Misstep: No Confusion Means No Preliminary Injunction

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In a trademark case involving an incontestable registration, the US Court of Appeals for the First Circuit affirmed a district court ruling denying the registrant a preliminary injunction (PI) for failure to establish...more

McDermott Will & Emery

No Spark Here: TTAB Refuses to Register Similar Mark for Real Estate Services

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The US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit upheld the Trademark Trial & Appeal Board’s refusal to register a mark due to the “close similarity” between the applied-for mark and a previously registered mark. In Re:...more

McDermott Will & Emery

Drink Up, but Not with Lehman Brand

In the context of an opposition proceeding, the US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit upheld a Trademark Trial & Appeal Board (Board) refusal to register a trademark based on likelihood of confusion with a famous but...more

McDermott Will & Emery

Eye Don’t: No Counterfeiting Without Likelihood of Confusion

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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

Knobbe Martens

Where's the Beef? Establishing Fame in Trademark Disputes

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A decision from the Federal Circuit clarified how the USPTO should analyze evidence of fame under the fifth DuPont factor. The decision sheds light on how fashion brands can establish that their marks are famous through...more

Knobbe Martens

Absent Exceptional Circumstances, a Party Cannot Raise New Issues on Appeal

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HYLETE LLC v. HYBRID ATHLETICS, LLC - Before Moore, Reyna, and Wallach. Appeal from the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board. Summary: Absent exceptional circumstances, an argument raised for the first time on appeal is...more

International Lawyers Network

Federal Circuit Reminds Us That Extrinsic Considerations Are Narrowly Construed in Trademark Matters

2018 saw a number of important trademark cases decided across the United States. Two cases illustrated the similarities between genericness analysis and one of the likelihood of confusion factors considered by the Trademark...more

Dorsey & Whitney LLP

DuPont Factors of Likely Confusion – Long Term Co-Existence Without Confusion Deserves Consideration by TTAB

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Recently, the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit vacated and remanded to the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board a decision on an ex parte appeal regarding a likelihood of confusion between the applicant’s mark GUILD...more

Smart & Biggar

Year-end Round-up: Notable Trademark Case Law From 2018

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There were many interesting trademark cases coming out of 2018, a few of which are discussed below. The scope of Canada’s anti-dilution remedy (section 22 of the Trademarks Act) is not limited to a defendant’s use of a...more

Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP

The Federal Circuit Vacates and Remands An International Trade Commission Final Determination in A Trademark-Based Investigation

• The Federal Circuit issued a rare precedential decision in an appeal from a trademark- and trade dress-based ITC investigation. • In its decision, the Federal Circuit reiterated that the act of trademark registration does...more

Fenwick & West LLP

Honey Badger Don’t Care, but the Lanham Act Might - Court Limits First Amendment Protection Against Trademark Claims

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For the first time since it began balancing the competing interests of trademark plaintiffs and creators of expressive works, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit held this month in Gordon v. Drape Creative that...more

McDermott Will & Emery

Sorry, Will – I AM Refused Registrations

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The US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit affirmed a refusal to register the mark I AM for various goods based on a likelihood of confusion with registered marks, concluding that the pseudo applicant’s trade moniker was...more

Foley Hoag LLP - Making Your Mark

Grapes, Girls and Goddesses: Federal Circuit Affirms MAYARI Trademark Registration For Wine

In our annual Trademark Year in Wine and Beer, we discussed Oakville Hills Cellar v. Georgallis Holdings LLC, in which the application of Georgallis (doing business as Kissos Wines) to register MAYARI for wine was opposed by...more

Knobbe Martens

Trademark Review | March 2016

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TTAB Finds a Consent Agreement Failed to Tip the Balance - Bay State Brewing Company’s intent-to-use application to register the mark TIME TRAVELER BLONDE for beer was rejected based on the previously registered mark...more

Foley Hoag LLP - Trademark, Copyright &...

CARRERA’s Trademark Reputation: “Luxury, High Tech, High Performance and Success”

The German carmaker, Porsche AG, which designed the iconic 911 Carrera sports car, owns the European Union and German “CARRERA” word mark, registered for “automobiles” in class 12. How far beyond automobiles does the...more

Katten Muchin Rosenman LLP

The Katten Kattwalk - Issue 08

The Katten Kattwalk discusses legal issues in the fashion industry affecting the trademarks, patents and copyrights associated with companies, brands and products. Letter From the Editor - Fashion Week has come and...more

Knobbe Martens

Trademark Review | September 2015

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The TTAB Finds Confusion Between WINEBUD Wine and BUD Beer The Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (TTAB) found that Applicant’s mark WINEBUD for wine is confusingly similar to Anheuser-Busch’s (“AB”) BUD mark. The TTAB...more

Knobbe Martens

Trademark Review | August 2015

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The Redskins Lose Again (Off the Field)- A federal District Court affirmed the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board’s (TTAB) ruling that “Redskins” cannot be registered as a trademark for use in connection with a...more

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