News & Analysis as of

Summary Judgment Lanham Act

McDermott Will & Schulte

Standing: Don’t get owned by incorrect trademark ownership

The US Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit affirmed a district court’s dismissal of a trademark and unfair competition suit, ruling that the plaintiff did not own the asserted trademark. The Court also held that the owner...more

Carlton Fields

Insurer Stripped of Coverage Defenses for Models’ Suit Against Insured Club

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Declining to find any of the insurer’s proffered exclusions applicable, a federal district court in Minnesota sided with the insured — a strip club that was sued for using models’ images without permission in its online...more

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

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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

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

McDermott Will & Schulte

When Analyzing Likelihood of Confusion, It’s Not Just Location, Location, Location

The US Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit vacated a district court’s decision finding no infringement that focused on only the geographic distance between the physical locations of the two users without considering the...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

Bracewell LLP

A New Way to Pierce the Corporate Veil: Disgorging Profit From Corporate Affiliates

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The US Supreme Court has recently granted certiorari on the issue of whether a corporation can be held liable for the conduct of its affiliate without first satisfying the well-settled standards for piercing the corporate...more

Knobbe Martens

Falsely Claiming Patent Protection May Violate the Lanham Act

Knobbe Martens on

Before Reyna, Cunningham and Albright. Appeal from the United States District Court for the District of Colorado. Summary: A claim that an unpatented product feature is “patented,” “proprietary,” or “exclusive” may violate...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

Carlton Fields

Sixth Circuit Finds Lanham Act False Advertising Claim Not a Personal and Advertising Injury Under General Liability Policy

Carlton Fields on

On June 1, 2023, the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals found that a Lanham Act false advertising lawsuit was not covered under the “personal and advertising injury” coverage section of a commercial general liability (CGL) policy...more

McDermott Will & Schulte

Functionality Dooms Alleged Trade Dress Protection

McDermott Will & Schulte on

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

ArentFox Schiff

Maryland Court Rejects Tech Company’s Ask For Affirmative Summary Judgment Against Former Employee Charged With CFAA Violations

ArentFox Schiff on

Earlier this month, the US District Court for District of Maryland denied a partial motion for summary judgment in a case filed by Infotek Corporation against Mr. Dwight Preston, a former employee. See Infotek Corp v....more

McDermott Will & Schulte

Secondary Meaning: Consumers Connect Product with Single Anonymous Source

Reversing and remanding a district court’s grant of summary judgment in favor of an accused trade dress infringer, the US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit explained that trade dress does not need to be linked to a...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

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