Category Archives: Trademarks

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The Supreme Court Limits the Extraterritorial Application of the Lanham Act

On June 29, 2023, the Supreme Court in Abitron Austria GmbH v. Hetronic International, Inc., limited the extraterritorial reach of the Lanham Act. The majority opinion was written by Justice Alito and joined by Justices Thomas, Gorsuch, Jackson, and Kavanaugh. Justice Jackson wrote a separate concurring opinion.  Four Justices –  Sotomayor, Roberts, Kagan, and Barrett … Continue Reading

Not Funny! Unanimous SCOTUS in Jack Daniel’s v. VIP Holds That Parody Does Not Implicate First Amendment Concerns, But Only Implicates Likelihood of Confusion

On June 8, 2023, the Supreme Court unanimously decided the trademark parody case captioned Jack Daniel’s Properties, Inc. v. VIP Products LLC in favor of Jack Daniel’s, and against the dog toy manufacturer and serial parodist VIP Products. 599 U. S. ____ (2023) (hereinafter “Slip Op.”). The Court made plain that using a senior user’s … Continue Reading

SCOTUS Oral Arguments in Abitron v. Hetronic: Extraterritorial Reach of Lanham Act

On March 31, 2023, the Supreme Court heard arguments in Abitron Austria GmbH v. Hetronic International, Inc., where at issue is whether the Tenth Circuit erred in applying the Lanham Act extraterritorially to Abitron’s foreign sales, including purely foreign sales that never reached the United States, as more fully described in our previous blog.… Continue Reading

Cert. Granted in Abitron to Clarify Boundaries for Extraterritorial Application of Lanham Act

In Abitron Austria GmbH v. Hetronic International, Inc., Oklahoma-based Hetronic, maker of radio remote controls for heavy-duty construction equipment, sued its former distributor Abitron (from Austria) for selling copycat products, as illustrated below. The district court found that Abitron had willfully infringed the Hetronic mark. Despite the fact that 97% of the infringing sales were … Continue Reading

Does Anyone Here Have A Sense Of Humor, Redux: Jack Daniel’s v. VIP Oral Argument

On March 22, 2023, the Supreme Court heard oral argument in the trademark parody case captioned Jack Daniel’s Properties, Inc. v. VIP Products LLC. As we previously blogged, the issues presented in the care are: 1. Whether humorous use of another’s trademark as one’s own on a commercial product is subject to the Lanham Act’s … Continue Reading

Certiorari Granted to Jack Daniel’s with Respect to Parody Dog Toy: Does Anyone Here Have a Sense of Humor, and Does it Matter?

On November 21, 2022, the Supreme Court granted certiorari on the following questions described in Jack Daniel’s petition: Respondent VIP Products LLC markets and sells dog toys that trade on the brand recognition of famous companies such as petitioner Jack Daniel’s Properties, Inc. The district court found that VIP’s use of Jack Daniel’s trademarks to … Continue Reading

TTAB Sustains WIRED Magazine’s § 2(d) Objection to Application to Register “WIRED” As A Mark for Clothing, But Not for Fitness Services

The Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (“TTAB”) sustained the objection of the publisher of the tech magazine WIRED (“Opposer”) to an Applicant’s (“Applicant”) bid to register the term “WIRED” for clothing but rejected its objection for fitness-related services. The Applicant sought registration for “WIRED” marks for fitness-related services and athletic clothing. The Opposer opposed the … Continue Reading

TTAB Rains on ‘Purple Rain’ Energy Drink Trademark Application

On August 23, 2022, the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (“TTAB”) rejected on summary judgment JHO Intellectual Property Holdings’ (“Applicant”) application to register the mark “PURPLE RAIN” for a variety of nutritional supplements, dietary drinks, and energy bars (collectively, “Applicant’s Goods”). The TTAB found that the proposed mark falsely suggested a connection with the famous … Continue Reading

Municipal Takedown: TTAB Refuses to Register the County of Orange Logos

The Trademark Trial & Appeal Board (“TTAB”) affirmed the US Patent & Trademark Office’s (“PTO”) refusal to register two different logo marks filed by California’s County of Orange (“County”) on the ground that they constitute insignia of a municipality. In 2017, the County applied to register two logo marks. The application described one mark as … Continue Reading

The Third Circuit Limits Preclusive Effect of the TTAB Rulings

On September 17, 2021, the Third Circuit held in Beasley v. Howard that trademark cancellation proceedings before the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (“TTAB”) do not have claim preclusive effect against trademark infringement lawsuits in federal district courts because of the TTAB’s limited jurisdiction. The case involves two musicians, David Beasley and William Howard, who … Continue Reading

What’s in a Name: SDNY Grants Preliminary Injunction Enforcing Contractual Bar Against Designer’s Use of Her Own Name

In a fifty-seven-page memorandum opinion and order, the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York granted a fashion brand its motion for a preliminary injunction preventing its lead designer from using her given name commercially and on her social media accounts. JLM Couture, Inc. v. Hayley Paige Gutman, 20-CV-10575-LTS-SLC (S.D.N.Y. 2021), … Continue Reading

Proud to Be an American, God Bless The USA, But Not Functioning as A Trademark

In a precedential decision, the United States Patent and Trademark Office, Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (the “Board”) affirmed the refusal to register the trademark GOD BLESS THE USA for home decor items on the ground that it failed to function as a trademark.[1] Additionally, the Board affirmed the Trademark Examining Attorney’s refusal to accept … Continue Reading

Lehman Brothers is Gone but Not Abandoned

On September 30, 2020, the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board ruled in favor of the assignee of the famous LEHMAN BROTHERS trademark against the registration that mark as a brand name for beer, spirits, and bar and restaurant services, finding that the LEHMAN BROTHERS mark had not been abandoned.  Barclays Capital, Inc. v. Tiger Lily … Continue Reading

Genericness is in the Eye of the Beholder, i.e., the Public: BOOKING.COM is a Protectable Trademark

On June 30, 2020, the U.S. Supreme Court (the “Court”), in an 8-1 decision, affirmed the Fourth Circuit’s holding that “BOOKING.COM” is a protectable trademark, thereby rejecting a sweeping rule that a protectable trademark cannot be created by adding “.com” to an otherwise generic term.… Continue Reading

After Almost 20 Years of Litigation, “Lucky” Finally Gets Lucky

On May 14, 2020, the United States Supreme Court held in Lucky Brand Dungarees Inc., et al. v. Marcel Fashion Group Inc., that a party is not precluded from raising new defenses, when a subsequent lawsuit between the same parties challenges different conduct and raises different claims. As explained in our previous posts, Lucky Brand … Continue Reading

The Parameters of Generic Marks: Booking.com before the Supreme Court

The Lanham Act (“Act”) makes it clear that generic terms cannot be registered as trademarks. But can an online business create a protectable trademark by adding a generic top-level domain (e.g., “.com”) to an otherwise generic term? The Supreme Court will answer this question in USPTO v. Booking.com, No. 19-46. The legal battle between Booking.com … Continue Reading

2(b) Prohibition On “Flag Marks” Bars Use of Flag as Part of a Mark

In a recent precedential decision concerning the rarely litigated or cited Section 2(b) of the Lanham Act, the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board affirmed a refusal to register the service mark: for tourism services on the ground that the mark includes a simulation of the American flag. In re Alabama Tourism Department, Serial No. 87599292 … Continue Reading

Willfulness Is Not Required for Awarding Profits in Trademark Cases

On April 23, 2020, the United States Supreme Court held in Romag Fasteners, Inc. v. Fossil Group, Inc., FKA Fossil, Inc., et al., that under the Lanham Act, a plaintiff is not required to show that a defendant willfully violated plaintiff’s trademark rights as a precondition to a profits award. As explained in our previous blog, … Continue Reading

Will the COVID-19 Pandemic Impact Your Ability to Secure an “Incontestable” Trademark?

Section 15 of the Lanham Act, subject to certain specified exceptions, provides that the right of an owner “to use [a] registered mark in commerce for the goods or services on or in connection with which such registered mark has been in continuous use for five consecutive years subsequent to the date of such registration and is … Continue Reading

Federal Circuit Colors Outside the Lines with a New Shade of Multi-Color Trademarks Protectability

On April 8, 2020, the Federal Circuit Court of Appeals (the “Federal Circuit”), in In Re Forney Industries Inc reversed the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (the “Board”) and held that multicolor designs may be inherently distinctive when used on product packaging. The court further held that multicolor designs need not be used within a well-defined … Continue Reading

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 register trademarks for most cannabis-based products on the ground that use of those products is federally unlawful.  But what about state or … Continue Reading

Prior Use Under the Pan-American Convention

The United States is a party to the General Inter-American Convention for Trade Mark and Commercial Protection of Washington, 1929 (“Pan-American Convention”), along with Colombia, Cuba, Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay and Peru. The Pan-American Convention governs the treatment of trademarks, trade names, unfair competition, and false indications of geographical origin or source. It basically … Continue Reading
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