Mealey's Trademarks
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January 09, 2023
In ‘Sleep Number’ Trademark Case, Plaintiff Request For Bench Trial Is Denied
MINNEAPOLIS — A plaintiff’s assertion that it will seek only equitable remedies in connection with a defendant’s alleged trademark infringement was rejected by a Minnesota federal judge, who found that the “purported disgorgement damages” being sought “do not strictly seek disgorgement of Defendants’ profits.”
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January 03, 2023
Copyright, Trademark Claims Over Fudge Recipe Tossed In Pennsylvania
PITTSBURGH — A federal magistrate judge in Pennsylvania ruled that although copyright and trademark infringement allegations by a fudge maker against his former wife fail, genuine issues of material fact preclude summary judgment on the question of whether reasonable measures were taken to protect a disputed fudge recipe.
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January 03, 2023
United States, EU, Amici Brief High Court On Lanham Act’s Extraterritoriality
WASHINGTON, D.C. — A U.S. Supreme Court case concerning the extraterritorial application of the Lanham Act in trademark infringement cases has sparked the filing of 11 amicus curiae briefs so far, with three supporting the foreign-based petitioners and eight in support of neither party, including briefs from the United States and the European Union (EU).
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January 03, 2023
In Michigan Federal Trademark Row, Judge Allows Gibson Counterclaims
GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — An answer by Gibson Brands Inc. that added counterclaims of trade secret misappropriation is permissible, a federal judge in Michigan ruled, because an amended complaint in the parties’ dispute over guitar designs added allegations of state and federal antitrust law.
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December 28, 2022
Common-Law Trademark Claim By Powerboat Maker Survives Motion To Dismiss
MONTGOMERY, Ala. — A federal judge in Alabama has concluded that a counterclaimant’s allegations of common-law trademark infringement and dilution will proceed in view of the counterclaimant’s demonstration that its “K2”-related mark is “plausibly famous.”
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December 28, 2022
Federal Circuit Weighs In On Wallet Patent, Trade Dress Dispute
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Although affirming dismissal of infringement allegations as they relate to one patent covering a men’s wallet and upholding a determination of trade dress invalidity, the Federal Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals said another patent asserted in the case was wrongly declared anticipated on summary judgment.
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December 19, 2022
Relief Entered In Part In New York Patent, Unfair Competition Case
BROOKLYN, N.Y. — A plaintiff seeking a declaration that it does not infringe a patented towel warmer won a preliminary injunction, in part, on Dec. 18 from a New York federal judge, who said a patent owner’s refusal to retract a complaint to Amazon.com could result in irreparable harm.
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December 19, 2022
Laches Defense Remains, But Others Stricken In ‘Three Stripe’ Trademark Row
NEW YORK — A federal judge in New York on Dec. 16 filed an opinion explaining in full his Dec. 2 order denying adidas America Inc. and luxury apparel designer Thom Browne Inc. summary judgment on Thom Browne’s assertion that laches bars adidas’ trademark infringement claim over the “Three Stripe Mark.”
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December 16, 2022
Texas Federal Judge Transfers Intellectual Property Row Sua Sponte
AUSTIN, Texas — Allegations of patent, copyright and trademark infringement leveled against more than 600 defendants over the sale of alleged counterfeit animal brushes belong in California, a Texas federal judge ruled sua sponte on Dec. 15.
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December 16, 2022
Mark Licensees’ Response Time Extended In High Court Row Over Licensor’s Joinder
WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. Supreme Court granted an extension motion by a group of Jackson State University (JSU) trademark licensees who prevailed in a trademark infringement suit in the Fifth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals, giving them an additional two months to respond to a petition for certiorari on a question of whether a trademark licensor is a necessary defendant in a trademark infringement suit against licensees.
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December 16, 2022
Toymaker To High Court: 1st Amendment Doesn’t Bar Disney Trademark Suit
WASHINGTON, D.C. — After filing a petition for certiorari asking when the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution provides protection from trademark infringement liability, a toy company filed a supplemental brief directing the U.S. Supreme Court’s attention to two cases that it suggests have bearing upon its infringement suit against Disney Enterprises Inc. over a stuffed bear toy.
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December 14, 2022
MGM Bid To Transfer, Dismiss Dispute Over ‘Rocky’ Marks Denied
NEW YORK — A complaint seeking a declaration of noninfringement with regard to the “Rocky” trademarks will proceed in New York federal court, a federal judge in New York has ruled.
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December 08, 2022
Panel Upholds Dismissal Of Trademark Action, But Reinstates Copyright Claim
SAN FRANCISCO — A federal judge in California wrongly granted Yahoo! Inc. dismissal of allegations of copyright infringement leveled over the display of photographs even after Yahoo’s agreement with the creator of the photos was terminated, the Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals ruled.
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December 07, 2022
Lanham Act Claim Fails, But Copyright Claim Survives Dismissal Bid
CHICAGO — A group of defendants who are among the few to not settle copyright infringement and false designation of origin claims by the maker of the “Fidget Cube” saw their efforts to obtain dismissal rejected in part by an Illinois federal judge.
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December 06, 2022
Oregon Federal Magistrate Judge Tosses Copyright, Lanham Act Claims Over Books
PORTLAND, Ore. — A federal magistrate judge in Oregon on Dec. 5 granted dismissal of copyright infringement and unfair competition claims leveled over the book “Why God Doesn’t Exist,” finding among other things that the Lanham Act “does not provide a cause of action for unattributed copying.”
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December 02, 2022
3rd Circuit Briefed On Fees Award In Nike ‘Cool Compression’ Trademark Suit
PHILADELPHIA— A small athletic apparel company tells the Third Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals in its appellee brief that willful infringement of its “cool compression” trademark by Nike Inc. justified a trial court’s award of enhanced damages, costs and attorney fees in this “David v. Goliath” trademark dispute.
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December 01, 2022
‘MTV Floribama Shore’ Satisfies Rogers Test, 11th Circuit Concludes
ATLANTA — In a case it said “lies at the crossroads” of the Lanham Act, 15 U.S.C. 1051 et seq., and the First Amendment, U.S. Const. amend. I, the 11th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals upheld summary judgment in favor of trademark infringement defendants, which include ViacomCBS Inc., over the MTV reality television show “MTV Floribama Shore.”
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November 30, 2022
Dismissal Of Copyright, Trademark Claims Over Board Game Denied
CHICAGO — Allegations that two defendants created a fully interactive website to sell counterfeit versions of the “Match Madness” pattern matching board game will proceed, a federal judge in Illinois ruled.
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November 29, 2022
Chinese E-Commerce Firm Seeks Certiorari For Due Process, Jurisdictional Issues
WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Seventh Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals erred in finding that a single online sale was sufficient to establish specific personal jurisdiction in a trademark infringement lawsuit, a Chinese e-commerce company asserts in a petition for certiorari, asking the U.S. Supreme Court to provide guidance on how the due process clause’s minimum contacts requirement applies to a globally accessible website.
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November 28, 2022
Appeal Dismissed, But Sanction Request Denied By Federal Circuit
WASHINGTON, D.C. — In a Nov. 28 order, the Federal Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals said an appeal of an Ohio federal judge’s dismissal of patent infringement allegations on subject matter jurisdiction grounds is premature because a related claim for false advertising has not yet been adjudicated.
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November 28, 2022
2nd Circuit Says New York Federal Judge Must Revisit Trademark Ruling
NEW YORK — Because a federal judge in New York “focused almost entirely” on a single factor — the degree of similarity — in his analysis of likely confusion in a trademark case, a resultant dismissal was vacated and remanded Nov. 23 by the Second Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals.
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November 21, 2022
Certiorari Granted To Jack Daniel’s In Trademark Row Over Squeaky Dog Toy
WASHINGTON, D.C. — In a miscellaneous order issued Nov. 21, the U.S. Supreme Court decided to weigh in on the standards for trademark infringement and tarnishment in the context of parodies and other humorous uses, granting certiorari to Jack Daniel’s Properties Inc. in a dispute over a dog toy that mimicked its famous whiskey bottle.
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November 21, 2022
Google Wins Dismissal Of Trademark Claims Over Food Ordering Features
SAN FRANCISCO — A federal judge in California on Nov. 18 said purported class claims that Google LLC infringes trademarks and commits false advertising by diverting customers from restaurant websites to delivery providers like DoorDash and Uber Eats fail as a matter of law.
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November 18, 2022
Injunction Upheld On Appeal In Lighting Design Intellectual Property Row
WASHINGTON, D.C. — A New York federal judge’s decision granting a patent, trademark and copyright infringement plaintiff preliminary injunctive relief in a dispute over lighting design was affirmed by the Federal Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals.
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November 18, 2022
8th Circuit Upholds Judgment, Fee Award For Prevailing Trade Dress Defendant
ST. LOUIS — An Iowa federal judge’s grant of summary judgment to a company accused of infringing the unregistered trade dress of a portable pouch was affirmed by the Eighth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals.