Is My Guitar Pedal a Klone or a Counterfeit? — No Infringement Intended Podcast
(Podcast) The Briefing: Trademark Basics – Protecting Names, Logos, and Brands in Entertainment
The Briefing: Trademark Basics - Protecting Names, Logos, and Brands in Entertainment
PODCAST: Williams Mullen's Trending Now: An IP Podcast - Cease and Desist Letters: Protecting Your Intellectual Property the Right Way
(Podcast) The Briefing: Sinking the Rogers Test? What Pepperdine’s Lawsuit Could Mean for Hollywood
The Briefing: Sinking the Rogers Test? What Pepperdine’s Lawsuit Could Mean for Hollywood
Mickey Mouse: un ratón con abogado
(Podcast) The Briefing: Trademark Mayhem – Lady Gaga Gets Sued for Trademark Infringement
The Briefing: Trademark Mayhem – Lady Gaga Gets Sued for Trademark Infringement
The Briefing: Everyone Loves the HBO Series 'White Lotus,' Except Duke University
(Podcast) The Briefing: Everyone Loves the HBO Series 'White Lotus,' Except Duke University
What Were the Cooler Wars? (Part 2) — No Infringement Intended Podcast
The Briefing: Court Drowns Pepperdine's 'Waves' Trademark Battle Against Netflix
(Podcast) The Briefing: Court Drowns Pepperdine's 'Waves' Trademark Battle Against Netflix
The Briefing: The Stanley Cup Clash - A Trademark Battle (Podcast)
The Briefing: The Stanley Cup Clash - A Trademark Battle
(Podcast) The Briefing: Bad Spaniels – Infringement? No. Dilution? Yes
The Briefing: Bad Spaniels – Infringement? No. Dilution? Yes
Can My Trademark Be a Victim of Genericide? — No Infringement Intended Podcast
PODCAST: Williams Mullen's Trending Now: An IP Podcast - Leverage Your IP - Residual Goodwill in Trademarks
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
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
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
Many eyes were on the Nittany Lions this past year as sports pundits speculated The Pennsylvania State University (Penn State) would make it to the College Football National Championship. But those with an interest in...more
Actual confusion is considered the sine qua non of trademark infringement. The presence of actual confusion can carry the day in proving a likelihood of confusion entitling the claimant to summary judgment. But not all...more
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
Barbenheimer is a new term for consecutively watching the movies “Barbie” and “Oppenheimer.” In honor thereof, we present the Barbenheimer Legal Alert. Did you know Mattel sued, and lost, to stop the “Barbie Girl” song?...more
In a case between similarly named banks, the US Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit confirmed expert disclosure requirements, conducted a de novo likelihood of confusion analysis and ultimately upheld a finding of no...more
The US Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit reversed and remanded a summary judgment ruling, finding that there were genuine disputes of material fact regarding whether the plaintiff’s alleged trade dress was functional and...more
Addressing laches and progressive encroachment, the US Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit reversed and remanded a district court’s grant of summary judgment based on laches because the district court failed to “conduct a...more
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
The US Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit reversed a district court’s grant of summary judgment for the defendant on trade dress infringement and trade dress dilution claims, finding that evidence relating to the...more
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
The US Court of Appeals for the 10th Circuit reversed a grant of summary judgment in favor of a company selling vaping accessories under the mark AFFLICTION, holding that the district court had erred in holding as a matter of...more
Addressing whether the name of a public school district’s summer reading program infringed upon an education services company’s trademarks related to a literacy incentive program, the US Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit...more
Addressing whether the district court correctly found a likelihood of confusion as a matter of law between two “identical” logos arranged around a stylized bird, the US Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit affirmed the...more
In April 2016, Beyoncé Knowles-Carter (known mononymously as “Beyoncé”) filed a trademark suit in the Southern District of New York against Feyonce, Inc., an online business that sells clothing, apparel, and assorted goods...more
Reversing summary judgment in a trademark infringement dispute over the use of the term “Backyard” on grills, the US Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit found that the district court erred because there were genuine...more
It has been a few years since the Supreme Court decision in the case B&B Hardware, Inc. v. Hargis Industries, Inc., and we are beginning to see the aftermath in the district courts. In B&B Hardware, the Supreme Court held...more
Examining the issue of trademark fair use, the US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit reversed a district court grant of summary judgment in favor of a promotional products company and remanded the case for reconsideration...more
In an opinion concerning likelihood of confusion of a weak mark, the US Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit affirmed partial summary judgment in favor of a defendant in a trademark infringement case concerning hair care...more
The US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit upheld a district court decision granting summary judgment to a defendant that its use of digital files did not infringe plaintiff’s trademark or trade dress for its CD-Gs...more
The US Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit affirmed a grant of summary judgment, holding that the plaintiff provided insufficient evidence to find that relevant consumers were likely to confuse the sources of his and the...more
Cue, Inc. sells high-end home audio equipment (e.g., table radios and speakers). In 2007, it applied to register the trademark CUE ACOUSTICS, and in late 2009 the USPTO allowed its application. Cue’s CUE ACOUSTICS mark was...more
Addressing the application of the Sleekcraft likelihood-of-confusion factors in the context of a summary judgment motion, the US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit reversed the district court’s grant of summary judgment,...more