News & Analysis as of

Trademark Infringement Summary Judgment Lanham Act

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

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

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

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

Fenwick & West LLP

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

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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

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

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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

ArentFox Schiff

New Headache for Trademark Litigants? Fourth Circuit’s Bayer Decision Rejects Application of State Statute of Limitations to...

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The Fourth Circuit recently held that the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia erred in its analysis of a defendant’s laches defense against an unfair competition claim under Section 43(a) of the Lanham...more

McDermott Will & Schulte

This Mashup Is Not a Place You’ll Go – Seuss Copyright Will ‘Live Long and Prosper’

Presented with a publishing company defendant’s mashup of Dr. Seuss’ copyrighted works with Star Trek in a work titled Oh, the Places You’ll Boldly Go!, the US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit tackled claims of both...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

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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

Fox Rothschild LLP

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

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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

Jones Day

Second Circuit Vacates Tiffany's $21 Million Win Over Costco

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The Second Circuit vacates Tiffany's summary judgment win over Costco and remands for a trial over the use of the word "Tiffany" in advertising for engagement rings. On August 17, 2020, in Tiffany & Co. v. Costco Wholesale...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

Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP

Video Gaming / E-Gaming Law Update - June 2020

Does My Video Game Violate Consumers’ Privacy Rights? The California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) is the first broad-based state statute aimed at enhancing personal privacy rights for consumers. Following the example set by...more

Akerman LLP - Marks, Works & Secrets

Lanham Act Preemption of State Law Where Cannabis Trademarks Are At Issue

As cannabis products become legal in more and more states, commercial interest grows in protecting the trademarks associated with those products.  The United States Patent and Trademark Office has maintained its refusal to...more

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