Mealey's Trademarks
-
June 24, 2022
In Gray Goods Case, 9th Circuit Upholds Denial Of Attorney Fees
SAN FRANCISCO — In an unpublished ruling issued June 22, the Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals left intact a California federal judge’s decision to award attorney fees to a prevailing trademark infringement defendant.
-
June 23, 2022
Washington Federal Judge Won’t Stay Dispute Over ‘12’ Trademarks
SEATTLE — A federal judge in Washington on June 21 denied a request by the Seattle Seahawks football franchise to stay a declaratory judgment action over a plaintiff’s right to register several trademarks involving the number “12” pending the outcome of opposition proceedings before the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (TTAB).
-
June 23, 2022
Design Patent Is Invalid As Functional, Federal Circuit Concludes
WASHINGTON, D.C. — A California federal judge did not err in declaring a reusable, foldable shopping bag patent invalid or in ruling that even if the patent is valid, it is not infringed by a defendant, the Federal Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals said June 22.
-
June 21, 2022
Trademark Claims Over ‘BMF’ Fail, California Federal Judge Concludes
LOS ANGELES — Curtis Jackson III, also known as 50 Cent, Starz Entertainment LLC and others associated with the television series “BMF: Black Mafia Family” won dismissal June 17 of allegations of infringement leveled in connection with the “BMF” trademark.
-
June 20, 2022
Lanham Act Claims Against H&M Over Pride Slogan Will Proceed To Trial
NEW YORK — A federal judge in New York on June 15 denied summary judgment on allegations that a popular clothing chain infringed the “Stay You” common-law trademark when branding certain items in a LGBTQI+ pride-related line “Stay True Stay You.”
-
June 17, 2022
Prudential, Shenzhen Spar Over Cybersquatting Ruling In 4th Circuit Briefs
RICHMOND, Va. — In a June 14 reply brief, a Chinese internet financial company tells the Fourth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals that a trial court wrongly concluded that it acquired the pru.com domain in bad faith, by relying on circumstantial evidence and by not drawing inferences in its favor.
-
June 13, 2022
North Carolina Federal Judge Issues $335,000 Sanction In Trademark, Copyright Case
ASHEVILLE, N.C. — In an order issued June 9, a federal judge in North Carolina said a copyright and trademark infringement defendant’s repeated defiance of an injunction justifies an award of $335,000 in sanctions.
-
June 10, 2022
California Federal Judge Reconsiders Causal Nexus Summary Judgment Ruling
LOS ANGELES — A denial of a motion for summary judgment that asserted that an infringement plaintiff could not demonstrate a causal nexus between the alleged copyright infringement and the profits for two films was in error, a federal judge in California ruled June 8.
-
June 06, 2022
Panel: Opposition To Trademark Apps Properly Sustained By Board
WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Trademark Trial and Appeal Board did not err in dismissing opposition to two applications relating to the “Lehman Brothers” trademark, the Federal Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals ruled June 1.
-
June 01, 2022
1st Amendment Protects Trademark Use, California Federal Judge Rules
LOS ANGELES — Efforts by a self-styled “social innovation consultancy firm” to control the use of the “Be Woke. Vote” trademark fail because the trademark infringement defendants’ use of the phrase is “fundamentally noncommercial,” a federal judge in California ruled May 31 in granting the defendants judgment on the pleadings.
-
June 01, 2022
Dispute Over ‘Rugged Entrepreneur’ Mark Sent To Ohio Federal Court
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — In a May 26 holding, a federal judge in Florida said the inconvenience of litigating parallel cases involving the “Rugged Entrepreneur” trademark in two separate forums, along with the interests of justice and judicial efficiency, necessitate transfer of the Florida action to the Southern District of Ohio.
-
May 26, 2022
Trademark Infringement Row Dismissed As Sanction By Virginia Federal Judge
ABINGDON, Va. — Citing the “breathtaking nature and extent” of various misrepresentations by a trademark infringement plaintiff, a federal judge in Virginia on May 25 agreed with a defendant that the action should be dismissed with prejudice as a sanction.
-
May 23, 2022
In New York Counterfeiting Case, Roku Denied Preliminary Injunction
NEW YORK — Allegations of trademark infringement and counterfeiting leveled by Roku Inc. against more than 100 defendants will proceed without a preliminary injunction in place, a federal judge in New York ruled May 20.
-
May 23, 2022
California Federal Judge Denies Injunction In ‘Pinkberry’ Franchise Row
LOS ANGELES — Despite finding that a franchisor demonstrates some likelihood of success on allegations that a former franchisee continues to infringe the “Pinkberry” trademark, a federal judge in California on May 20 denied entry of preliminary injunctive relief in the case.
-
May 20, 2022
Panel Affirms Relief, Says THC-Containing Products Aren’t Illegal
SAN FRANCISCO — The Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals on May 19 upheld a preliminary injunction barring the sale of allegedly counterfeit e-cigarette and vaping products, rejecting a copyright infringement and unfair competition defendant’s claim that certain tetrahydrocannabinol (THC)-containing products cannot be trademarked or copyrighted because THC is unlawful under federal law.
-
May 18, 2022
Application Of Laches To Trademark Claims Was Error, Panel Rules
ST. LOUIS — A dispute between two insurance-related companies over the “AIG” trademark was reinstated May 13 by the Eighth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals, which reversed findings by a Missouri federal judge that the case is barred by the doctrine of laches.
-
May 17, 2022
9th Circuit Affirms Dismissal Of Trademark Suit Over Instagram ‘Hoax-19’ Account
PASADENA, Calif. — The sua sponte dismissal of a trademark infringement suit brought by Arizona State University (ASU) against the John Doe creator of an Instagram account that mocked the university’s Covid-19 policies was affirmed May 13 by a Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel that found no error in a judge’s determination that there was no likelihood of confusion from Doe’s use of ASU’s trademarks.
-
May 16, 2022
9th Circuit Upholds $500K+ Fee Award In Counterfeiting Case
SAN FRANCISCO — In an unpublished opinion filed May 11, the Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals agreed with a California federal judge that allegations of counterfeiting leveled in connection with the “EYE DEW” trademark qualify as exceptional.
-
May 11, 2022
Magistrate Settles Discovery Disputes In Duracell ‘Optimum’ Trademark Suit
NEWARK, N.J. — A company that sued Duracell U.S. Operations Inc. for trademark infringement related to its “Optimum” batteries failed to show that Duracell’s sales projections are relevant to its claims or to an award, a New Jersey federal magistrate judge held May 6 in a ruling that resolved several ongoing discovery matters between the parties.
-
May 03, 2022
Magistrate Denies Summary Judgment In Premium Cigar Maker’s Trademark Claim
MIAMI — A Florida federal magistrate judge on April 29 denied motions for summary judgment brought by each side in a trademark dispute between a premium cigar maker and a manufacturer of discount cigarillos on all but one claim, finding that too many issues of fact are in dispute regarding whether consumers are likely to be confused by the similarity in the parties’ marks.