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Trademarks First Amendment

A Trademark is a legally registered distinctive mark or sign which identifies goods, products or services that originate or are associated with a particular person or enterprise . A typical example of a trademark... more +
A Trademark is a legally registered distinctive mark or sign which identifies goods, products or services that originate or are associated with a particular person or enterprise . A typical example of a trademark would be a company's logo such as the Nike "Check" or McDonald's "Golden Arches."  less -
Proskauer Rose LLP

Three Point Shot - August 2025

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Nike and Sneaker Customizer Lace Up a Settlement - On June 18, 2025, Nike, Inc. (“Nike”) and Dominic Ciambrone (“Ciambrone”), founder of the shoe customization outfit, The Shoe Surgeon, entered into a confidential...more

Coblentz Patch Duffy & Bass

Monkey Business No More: Ninth Circuit Rules NFTs Are Protected by Trademark Law, Confirms the Limits of Expressive Speech...

Key Takeaways - The Ninth Circuit confirmed that non-fungible tokens (NFTs) are ‘goods’ under the Lanham Act and can be protected by trademark law....more

Dorsey & Whitney LLP

Spotlight or Lawsuit? Strategic Brand Use in Film and Media

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When The White Lotus returned to HBO for its third season, it came with the usual dose of dramatic tension, along with one unexpected intellectual property wrinkle. [WARNING – Potential Plot Spoiler Ahead!] In a particularly...more

Baker Donelson

Trademark Trouble: When the F-Word Fails to Function

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Recent Supreme Court decisions underscore how viewpoint-based refusals of trademark applications are unconstitutional. But can these viewpoint-based refusals survive under the "failure-to-function" doctrine instead?...more

ArentFox Schiff

The High Stakes of NILs: MLB Players Inc. Challenges DraftKings and bet365 Over NIL Rights

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In a legal clash between MLB Players Inc. (MLBPI) and sports betting companies, DraftKings and bet365, the US District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania denied the defendants’ motions to dismiss....more

Sunstein LLP

Trademarks & The First Amendment Webinar Recap

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At our webinar, "Trademarks & The First Amendment," featuring litigators Lisa Tittemore and Katherine Soule, we promised to provide an update regarding the status of the injunction in the VIP Products v. Jack Daniel’s case....more

Venable LLP

Out of the Doghouse? Jack Daniel's Marks Tarnished but Not Infringed by Bad Spaniels Toy

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On January 23, 2025, the United States District Court for the District of Arizona issued a final decision ending the intensely disputed, decade-long litigation between Jack Daniel's Properties, Inc. and VIP Products LLC....more

McDermott Will & Schulte

Dog Toy Maker in the Doghouse (Again) for Tarnishing Jack Daniel’s Marks

Addressing this case for the third time, the US District Court for the District of Arizona found on remand that Jack Daniel’s was entitled to a permanent injunction after finding that VIP Products’ “Bad Spaniels” dog toy...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

Robins Kaplan LLP

Trademark Tensions on the Track: Court Upholds First Amendment Protections in Haas v. Steiner

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The intersection of trademark law and creative expression continues to evolve, most recently in Haas Automation, Inc. v. Guenther Steiner and Ten Speed Press, 2024 WL 4440914 (C.D. Cal. September 25, 2024). Haas provides...more

Venable LLP

Lessons Gleaned from the MetaBirkin Case on Appeal - Trademark Use Versus Artistic Expression Regarding NFTs

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The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit recently heard oral argument in an appeal from a jury verdict that found in favor of Plaintiffs Hermès International and Hermès of Paris, Inc. ("Hermès") against Mason...more

Willcox & Savage

Trump Too Small: The Lanham Act Names Clause

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To guide potential trademark owners and to foster strong protection for trademarks under U.S. law, the Lanham Act; 15 U.S.C. §1052, defines the types of trademarks and service which marks can be registered by whittling away...more

Kaufman & Canoles

K&C Sports & Entertainment Law Weekly Roundup - September 2024

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Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul announced that Illinois has joined an $82.5 million proposed antitrust settlement with Varsity Brands (Varsity). As a result, Illinois consumers who paid to participate in Varsity Brands’...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

Mintz - Intellectual Property Viewpoints

Supreme Court Doesn’t Want to Play the Name Game: Prohibition Against Using a Person’s Name in a Registered Mark Without Consent...

On June 13, 2024, the Supreme Court held that the Lanham Act’s prohibition on registering trademarks utilizing another person's name without consent was constitutional. In Vidal v. Elster 602 U. S. ____ (2024), the Supreme...more

Sterne, Kessler, Goldstein & Fox P.L.L.C.

[Webinar] Trademark Trends: A Mid-Year Review - July 17th, 1:00 pm - 2:00 pm EDT

Join Sterne Kessler’s Global Trademark & Brand Protection team for our mid-year review webinar, when we will take a closer look at the latest developments in trademark law. From recent court decisions to industry-trends, our...more

Haug Partners LLP

Supreme Court Upholds Validity of Names Clause in Trump Too Small Decision

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Referred to as the “names clause”, the Lanham Act prohibits registration of a mark that consists of or comprises a name that identifies a particular living individual without written consent.1 This includes full names,...more

Akerman LLP

Content-Based but Viewpoint-Neutral: Federal Trademark Law “Names Clause” Withstands Constitutional Challenge

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There has long been a tension between the Free Speech Clause of the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution and federal trademark law. In two relatively recent Supreme Court trademark cases, the First Amendment won, enabling...more

Dorsey & Whitney LLP

Is the Art of Parody Dead? - Implications of SCOTUS Jack Daniel’s Opinion A Year Later

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It has been a year since the Supreme Court issued its decision in the multiple-year legal battle between VIP Products LLC and Jack Daniel’s. We covered this dispute when it was back at the 9th Circuit....more

Holland & Knight LLP

U.S. Supreme Court Upholds Constitutionality of Federal Trademark Statute's "Names Clause"

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The U.S. Supreme Court unanimously rejected a First Amendment challenge to the "names clause" of the Lanham Act on June 13, 2024. See Vidal v. Elster, No. 22-704. The names clause prohibits federally registering a trademark...more

Irwin IP LLP

Supreme Court Rules: Elster Can Say "Trump Too Small" But Can't Trademark It!

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Vidal v. Elster, 602 U.S. (2024) - In a landmark decision affirming longstanding principles of trademark law, the United States Supreme Court ruled that the Lanham Act’s names clause does not violate the First Amendment,...more

Bradley Arant Boult Cummings LLP

Trademarking History: Justices Uphold Names Clause, Clash Over Reasoning

On June 13, 2024, the Supreme Court handed down its decision in Vidal v. Elster, a case that pitted trademark law against the First Amendment’s free speech protections. While the Court unanimously upheld the Patent and...more

McDermott Will & Schulte

Supreme Court Upholds Constitutionality of Lanham Act’s Names Clause

In Vidal v. Elster, a unanimous Supreme Court of the United States reversed the US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit’s decision, holding that the Lanham Act’s names clause does not violate the First Amendment or...more

Kaufman & Canoles

K&C Sports & Entertainment Law Weekly Roundup - June 2024 #3

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The U.S. Twirling Association and a coach must pay nearly $4.2 million to a baton twirler who was sexually assaulted as a minor during a sponsored international trip, a New York federal jury has found, saying the organization...more

Seyfarth Shaw LLP

Lanham Act’s Personal Names Restriction Does Not Violate First Amendment

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As expected, based on the tenor of the Justices’ questions during oral argument, the U.S. Supreme Court has ruled against a trademark applicant seeking to register a mark commenting on former President Donald Trump. The...more

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