Mealey's Trademarks
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July 19, 2022
Dispute Over Pocket Stitch Design Will Proceed In Pennsylvania
PITTSBURGH — A bid by American Eagle Outfitters Inc. (AEO) for summary judgment on its allegations of trademark infringement against Walmart Inc. was denied July 18 by a federal judge in Pennsylvania, who cited ongoing material disputes between the parties over trademark validity, secondary meaning and the likelihood of confusion.
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July 19, 2022
Injunction Denied In Trademark Dispute Between Restaurants
DETROIT — A federal judge in Michigan on July 15 said allegations of trademark infringement leveled in a dispute between competing restaurants will proceed without a preliminary injunction in place.
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July 18, 2022
6th Circuit Reverses Double Profit Award In Trademark Row
CINCINNATI — In a dispute that it said raises “several challenging questions” under the Lanham Act, 15 U.S.C. §§ 1051 et seq., the Sixth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals on July 14 upheld an award of $250,000 in infringer’s profits but reversed an Ohio federal judge’s decision to double those profits in view of a defendant’s failure to disclose its cost data.
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July 13, 2022
Trial Court Erred In Copyright Standing, Trade Dress Analyses, Panel Says
NEW ORLEANS — The Fifth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals on July 12 said a Louisiana federal judge must revisit a copyright and trade dress infringement dispute over tableware designs.
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July 11, 2022
In Trademark Row, Panel Says No Guarantee Of ‘Prevailing Party’ Status
ATLANTA — A Florida federal judge did not err in denying a trademark infringement defendant and counterclaimant a request for attorney fees, the 11th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals ruled July 7, because neither it nor the trademark owner qualifies as a prevailing party.
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June 30, 2022
Panel Undoes Coca-Cola’s Effort To Cancel Soft Drink Trademarks
WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Federal Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals on June 29 said the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board wrongly ruled in favor of The Coca-Cola Co. when it canceled two trademarks issued to a domestic soda distributor.
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June 29, 2022
11th Circuit Reinstates Reverse Confusion Claims Against Amazon
ATLANTA — In a blow to Amazon.com Inc., the 11th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals on June 28 said that because there are “several important differences in how the seven likelihood-of-confusion factors apply in reverse-confusion cases versus forward-confusion cases,” allegations that the online retailer infringed the “FyreTV” trademark were wrongly tossed.
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June 28, 2022
Florida Federal Judge Won’t Strike Jury Trial Demand In Trademark Case
MIAMI — Efforts by two defendants to avoid a jury trial on allegations they infringed the “Baoli” trademark failed June 24 when a federal judge in Florida found that a license agreement with the trademark owner provides “ample support” for the trademark owner’s claim for actual damages.
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June 27, 2022
Unfair Competition, DMCA Claims Tossed By Florida Federal Judge
TAMPA, Fla. — Allegations of federal unfair competition, common-law trademark infringement and violations of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act were dismissed without prejudice on June 23 by a Florida federal judge, who found that a plaintiff is unable to show that the state’s long-arm statute applies to a resident of Mexico.
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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.
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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).
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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.
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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.
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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.”
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.