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Trademarks › Summary Judgment

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 -
McDermott Will & Schulte

Clean bill of health: Only domestic activities count when analyzing likelihood of confusion

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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

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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

Ervin Cohen & Jessup LLP

No “Sale,” No Trademark: Ninth Circuit Dismisses “WallStreetBets” Founder’s Infringement Claim Against Reddit for Lack of...

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On June 11, 2025, in likely the most significant ruling of the longstanding feud between the social media website, Reddit, Inc., and the founder of its notorious “WallStreetBets” subreddit community, Jaime Rogozinski, the...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

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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

Fox Rothschild LLP

TTAB Practitioners Beware: TTAB Dismissals With Prejudice, But Without Judgment, Can Support A Claim Preclusion Defense

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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

Foley & Lardner LLP

Guidance for Franchisors: Lessons from N.A.R., Inc. v. Eastern Outdoor Furnishings

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A recent New Jersey appellate court decision provides valuable guidance for franchisors and their in-house legal teams on structuring and protecting franchise relationships. The court affirmed that a terminated retailer of...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

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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

Katten Muchin Rosenman LLP

The Nittany Lions Are the Champs … Trademark Champs - The Katten Kattwalk/Kattison Avenue | Issue 4

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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

McDermott Will & Schulte

Chickening Out: Reason for Trademark Abandonment Irrelevant Without Proof of Intent to Resume

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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

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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

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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

Taking the High Road: Ambiguity Regarding “Versions” of Beer Precludes Summary Judgment

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The US Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit affirmed a district court’s summary judgment denial and determination that the definition of “beer” (which encompassed “other versions and combinations” of beer and malt...more

McDermott Will & Schulte

All That Glitters: Use of Registered Mark To Describe Watch Color Was Fair Use

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The US Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit affirmed a district court’s grant of summary judgement to a luxury-watchmaker defendant, holding that its use of a registered and incontestable trademarked term was fair use...more

Farella Braun + Martel LLP

Court Discounts Confusion Evidence in Trademark Infringement Action: Is the Confusion Actual?

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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

Foley Hoag LLP - Making Your Mark

How Original! The Oscars and the Craft of Derivative Works

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Happy Oscar season! As we ramp up for film’s most anticipated event, the lists start flying for the year’s potential winners. Frequently, the Academy favors somewhat obscure, esoteric films—so it might be surprising to learn...more

Smart & Biggar

Canadian IP Litigation 2023: Year in Review

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The year 2023 witnessed several developments in Canadian IP litigation. From summary judgment finding its limits to the denial of a permanent injunction for the first time in almost three decades, several cases decided in...more

McDermott Will & Schulte

What’s Kühler Than Kühl? No Likelihood of Confusion

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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

Ladas & Parry LLP

New York Court Sides with PepsiCo on Remand in Ongoing Rise Brewing Dispute

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In Riseandshine Corporation v PepsiCo Inc (SDNY-1-21-cv-06324), plaintiff Riseandshine Corporation, doing business as Rise Brewing, brought three federal and two state claims relating to trademark infringement and unfair...more

Troutman Pepper Locke

SUNNY ISLE Owner Denied Summary Judgment in Alleged Counterfeiting Case

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JBC case against Pak Cosmetic Centre will go to trial following a rejected application for summary judgment... Originally published in the World Trademark Review on August 21, 2023....more

McDermott Will & Schulte

Disgorgement of Profits Appropriate Remedy for Breach of Contract, Trademark Infringement

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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

Remedies as Big as Your Bamba

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Following the district court’s finding of trademark infringement on summary judgment, the US Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit affirmed the district court’s subsequent award of profits, costs and attorneys’ fees in favor...more

Woods Rogers

What Barbenheimer Can Teach Us About Intellectual Property

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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

McDermott Will & Schulte

Elevate the $: Geographic Isolation Helps Defeat Trademark Infringement Claim

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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

McDermott Will & Schulte

On the Road Again: Alternative Designs May Impact Trade Dress Functionality Analysis

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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

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