Rachel B. Rudensky

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Rachel Rudensky assists her clients in all facets of brand development around the world. She represents clients in a wide variety of sectors including, fashion, entertainment, hospitality, professional sports, healthcare, financial services, and consumer goods. Her practice encompasses trademarks, copyrights, and internet disputes involving domain names.

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Heinz Seeks “Smart” De Novo Review In Light Of B&B Hardware

By Ira S. Sacks, Mark S. Lafayette and Rachel B. Rudensky on Posted in Trademarks, TTAB, USPTO
H.J. Heinz Co. (“Heinz”) filed a federal lawsuit recently against Boulder Brands USA (“Boulder”) seeking to vacate and reverse a Trademark Trial and Appeal Board decision finding that Boulder’s SMART BALANCE trademark is not likely to be confused with Heinz’s SMART ONES trademark, and that the SMART ONES trademark is not famous.  H.J. Heinz Co. … Continue Reading

The House That Juice Built: TTAB Denies Registration To Parodies

By Ira S. Sacks and Rachel B. Rudensky on Posted in Trademarks, TTAB, USPTO
On May 8, 2015, the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (the “Board”) issued a resounding blow to trademark applicants who seek to register others’ trademarks as parodies.  In New York Yankees Partnership v. IET Products and Services, Inc., Opposition No. 91189692 (May 8, 2015), the Board announced that “parody” or “fair use” can never function … Continue Reading

B&B Hardware: Sometimes, Not Always, Not Never

By Ira S. Sacks, Mark S. Lafayette and Rachel B. Rudensky on Posted in Trademarks, TTAB, USPTO
The Supreme Court issued its second trademark ruling of the term on Tuesday, ruling that federal court decisions on “likelihood of confusion” sometimes can be precluded by earlier rulings about trademark registrability issued from the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (“TTAB” or “the Board”). Petitioner B&B Hardware, Inc. (“B&B”) and respondent Hargis Industries, Inc. (“Hargis”) both … Continue Reading

Lucky Brand Not So Lucky

By Ira S. Sacks and Rachel B. Rudensky on Posted in Trademarks
The Second Circuit ruled last week in favor of Plaintiff Marcel Fashion Group Inc. (“Marcel”), vacating the trial court’s grant of summary judgment in favor of Defendant Lucky Brand Dungarees, Inc. (“Lucky Brand”), which had dismissed Plaintiff’s claims of trademark infringement, false designation of origin and unfair competition under the doctrine of res judicata.  Since … Continue Reading

Is POM Wonderful?

By Ira S. Sacks, Mark S. Lafayette and Rachel B. Rudensky on Posted in False Advertising
Section 43(a) of the Lanham Act provides a private right of action for companies to sue their competitors for a wide variety of “false or misleading” commercial statements. Classic false advertising claims involve a defendant’s false or misleading statements either about its own or a competitor’s product when those statements lead to the plaintiff’s lost … Continue Reading

Overclaiming in Trademark Applications: “Full Line of …”

By Ira S. Sacks and Rachel B. Rudensky on Posted in Trademarks, USPTO
In Ferring B.V. v. Fera Pharmaceuticals, LLC, the Eastern District of New York was called upon to determine the importance of the United States Patent and Trademark Office’s Trademark Manual of Examining Procedure (“TMEP”) and its guidelines in determining the validity of a federally registered trademark.  The Court declined to afford the TMEP an elevated … Continue Reading

Volitional Acts and Control: Copyright Infringement Liability of Online Sellers

By Ira S. Sacks, Mark S. Lafayette and Rachel B. Rudensky on Posted in Copyrights
The issue of whether a party has engaged in a volitional act, or has the ability to control an infringer, sufficient to result in liability for copyright infringement, either as a direct infringer or through vicarious copyright infringement, has taken on new significance due to the rise of online sellers providing goods and services.  In … Continue Reading

Third Party Purchase of Others’ Trademarks as Search Engine Keywords

By Ira S. Sacks and Rachel B. Rudensky on Posted in Trademarks
With consumers’ increasing use of Internet search engines to find the products they want, search engine optimization has become a key element in many businesses’ overall marketing strategy. One way to achieve this result is to purchase keywords from a search engine (Google calls them ‘Adwords’). Keyword advertising refers to advertisements that appear alongside or … Continue Reading
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