Sharpen Your Sword: Adduce Proof When Claiming Prior Copyright to Challenge a Trademark in China
While all brand owners desire to protect their trademarks, many do not regularly create or maintain detailed records of their use of their marks. A best practice that may pay dividends for your business, and help to protect...more
Legal decisions, like fine wine, should be balanced. The Federal Circuit recently corked a non-precedential TTAB decision that ECHO D’ANGÉLUS was not confusingly similar to ECHO DE LYNCH BAGES, where both were used for wine,...more
John Wick is a highly successful film franchise starring Keanu Reeves as a hitman who reluctantly emerges from retirement to avenge the killing of his pet beagle (among other offenses committed by a group of not-very-nice...more
Monster Energy Co. (“Monster Energy”), frequent trademark plaintiff, recently found itself on the receiving end of a trademark infringement lawsuit brought by California company Outdoor Pro Shop, Inc. (“Pro Shop”). Pro Shop’s...more
The August 2021 issue of Sterne Kessler's MarkIt to Market® newsletter discusses Monster Energy's history of trademark disputes in the context of enhancing brand strength, tips for shortening the pendency of trademark filings...more
Two recent decisions from the Western District of North Carolina in Winestore Holdings LLC v. Justin Vineyards & Winery LLC provide a tasting of the requirements for bringing a declaratory judgment action for non-infringement...more
When TV format creator Mark Duffy struck upon the tongue-in-cheek name “The Pets Factor” for what was (presumably) a talent competition for domestic animals, he might well have smiled at his own ingenuity. Conversely, when...more
Are apples different from pears? Or are they both just fruit? Or, as cockney rhyming slang would have it, are they stairs? These are the questions (excepting the last one) that the distinguished judges of the Court of Justice...more
Back in February, we covered the trademark dispute between the U.S. Army and the Las Vegas Golden Knights professional ice hockey team. As we predicted, the Army and the Golden Knights have now settled that matter by...more
When two boxing companies sparred before the TTAB, the gloves came off—and that wasn’t only because the dispute concerned a trademark registration for boxing gloves. In Moreno v. Pro Boxing Supplies, Inc., the petitioner,...more
The Katten Kattwalk discusses legal issues in the fashion industry affecting the trademarks, patents and copyrights associated with companies, brands and products. ...more
Last week, the TTAB agreed to vacate a precedential decision at the direction of a district court judge putting an end (for now) to a stand-off between the administrative body and the federal judiciary. As we have previously...more
For the past few years, the Trademark and Copyright Law Blog has marked Thanksgiving with a note about the history of turkey trademarks. Last year, we discussed the ownership of GOBBLE GOBBLE, and before that we told you why...more
Addressing what constitutes sufficient evidence of “bona fide intent” to use a trademark in commerce, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit affirmed the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board’s (TTAB or Board) decision...more