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Mealey's Trademarks

  • July 22, 2025

    Judge Finds For OpenAI In Suit Over Open AI Trademark

    SAN FRANCISCO — While both companies in a trademark dispute over the “Open AI” mark offered artificial intelligence products, it was OpenAI Inc. that commercialized and advertised its products and whose mark acquired a secondary meaning, a federal judge in California said in granting the company summary judgment on July 21.

  • July 22, 2025

    Federal Circuit Reverses Patent, Trademark Infringement Finding In Sweatshirt Case

    WASHINGTON, D.C. — A Federal Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel reversed an Arizona federal jury’s verdict in a design patent and trademark infringement dispute related to oversized sweatshirts, holding that substantial evidence does not support the jury’s finding that a manufacturer infringed another entity’s trademarks.

  • July 17, 2025

    9th Circuit: Supplement Trademark Used Abroad Can’t Be Confused With Older Mark

    SAN FRANCISCO — The Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals rejected a nutrition supplement company’s contention that a competitor’s proposed trademark for “Nature’s Day” had been shown to have a likelihood of being confused with the company’s “Nature’s Way” mark because the “Nature’s Day” mark was exclusively used on products sold abroad, contravening the Lanham Act’s bar on extraterritoriality.

  • July 16, 2025

    2nd Circuit Revives Counterfeit Speaker Claims, Vacates Summary Judgment

    NEW YORK — A panel in the Second Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals vacated a New York federal judge’s grant of summary judgment in favor of an online electronics market, holding July 15 that the judgment stemmed from an incorrect finding that an electronics manufacturer failed to establish a prima facie case for its trademark infringement and counterfeiting claims.

  • July 15, 2025

    After Settlement Notice, Judge Moots Motions In Web-Based Retailers Trademark Row

    DENVER — After a fencing company and the web-based retailers it sued over alleged trademark infringement notified the court that the parties entered into a settlement agreement, a Colorado federal judge on July 14 issued a docket-only order denying as moot motions to dismiss and for an extension of time related to discovery.

  • July 14, 2025

    4th Circuit: No Error In Injunction Barring Gaming Chair Mark Use In Europe

    RICHMOND, Va. — A panel in the Fourth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals on July 11 affirmed a Virginia federal judge’s implementation of a permanent injunction that bars a video game peripheral maker’s use of the mark “GTRacing” internationally; the panel held that the injunction does not run afoul of the Lanham Act’s territorial limitations because it enforces a previously negotiated and subsequently breached settlement agreement.

  • July 14, 2025

    Clothing Maker Seeks New Trial After Verdict In Penn State Trademark Fight

    HARRISBURG, Pa. — An apparel maker argues that it deserves either judgment as a matter of law in its favor or a new trial in a Pennsylvania federal court after a jury found that it willfully infringed marks held by The Pennsylvania State University and a judge issued a permanent injunction barring it from further uses of the marks, maintaining its contention that the university failed to show the apparel maker used the marks in an infringing way.

  • July 11, 2025

    Federal Circuit: Novelist Can’t Register Shrimp Mark For Florida Restaurant

    WASHINGTON, D.C. — A panel in the Federal Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals said July 10 that a crime fiction novelist and restaurant owner cannot register “Yucatan Shrimp” as a trademark because it is merely descriptive, affirming decisions by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (PTO) and the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (TTAB).

  • July 11, 2025

    4th Circuit OKs Scrapping Of Manufacturer’s Repeat Copyright, Trade Secret Claims

    RICHMOND, Va. — A Fourth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel held that a Taiwanese manufacturer’s copyright infringement, trade secret misappropriation and other claims against a machine distributor failed for being based on conclusory allegations; the panel further found no error in a North Carolina federal judge’s refusal to allow the manufacturer leave to amend its complaint after the company “engaged in pleading practices that approached bad faith.”

  • July 09, 2025

    8th Circuit Agrees: No Federal Jurisdiction Over ‘Chicken Coop’ Mark Claims

    ST. LOUIS — A panel in the Eighth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals on July 8 affirmed an Iowa federal judge’s dismissal of a chicken restaurant company’s action seeking a declaratory judgment of noninfringement of another restaurant’s trademarks, agreeing that the District Court lacked jurisdiction because the complaint was filed to assert federal defenses to already pending state actions.

  • July 08, 2025

    Judge: Game-Maker Failed To Show Use Of Word ‘Pie’ Was Infringing

    ANNISTON, Ala. — An Alabama federal judge dismissed without prejudice an educational game-maker’s trademark infringement and dilution suit against a seller of school products, finding that the game-maker failed to show that the defendant company used the word “pie” in an infringing way.

  • July 07, 2025

    Federal Judge Tosses Software Company’s IP Claims For Jurisdictional Issues

    RALEIGH, N.C. — A federal judge in North Carolina on July 3 held that a software company was not the real party in interest in its intellectual property suit involving a software it makes for insurance companies after it assigned all of its intellectual property rights to its parent company, dismissing the complaint.

  • July 07, 2025

    5th Circuit: R&B Singer Can’t Target Bandmates Under Lanham Act

    NEW ORLEANS — The Lanham Act does not allow for trademark’s co-owner to bring claims against other co-owners, a Fifth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel held, affirming a Texas federal judge’s decision to grant summary judgment to defendant members of the 1990s rhythm and blues group Jade in a dispute over the group’s name brought by another member.

  • June 30, 2025

    Judge Enters Injunction In Penn State Trademark Case, Denies Attorney Fees

    HARRISBURG, Pa. — After a jury found in favor of The Pennsylvania State University on its trademark claims against an apparel maker, a Pennsylvania federal judge issued a permanent injunction against the clothier barring it from using the university’s trademarked logos or phrases on apparel items.

  • June 27, 2025

    Beastie Boys, Chili’s Stipulate To Dismissal Of ‘Sabotage’ Copyright Claims

    NEW YORK — The Beastie Boys and the parent company of Chili’s restaurants on June 26 stipulated to the dismissal of the hip-hop group’s copyright infringement suit against the casual dining chain alleging that it inappropriately used the 1994 single “Sabotage” in a commercial without permission; a New York federal judge signed off on the stipulation on the same day.

  • June 18, 2025

    High Court Rejects Challenge To Laches Finding In Speaker Trademark Row

    WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. Supreme Court on June 18 rejected an electronics company’s petition for a writ of certiorari in which it argued that the Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals wrongly applied the doctrine of laches to counterclaims it brought in a trademark infringement dispute over the use of the marks XTREME and INFINITY in connection with audio speakers.

  • June 16, 2025

    9th Circuit Revives IP Dispute Over 1980s Home Computer System

    SAN FRANCISCO — A Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel ruled that a Washington federal judge erred in finding that a software company lacked standing to bring a copyright infringement claim, partially reviving an intellectual property dispute involving a 1980s brand of computer that has had what the judge in a March 2023 grant of summary judgment called “a tortured history.”

  • June 16, 2025

    Federal Circuit Says TTAB Erred In ‘House Mark’ Wine Trademark Analysis

    WASHINGTON, D.C. — A Federal Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel on June 13 sent a dispute over a proposed wine trademark back to the U.S. Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (TTAB); the panel held that TTAB’s rejection of a wine company’s opposition to another wine entity’s proposed mark was based on an incorrect finding that both entities used their “house marks” within the marks at issue.

  • June 13, 2025

    9th Circuit Agrees ‘WallStreetBets’ Creator’s Trademark, UCL Claims Fail

    SAN FRANCISCO — A Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel affirmed a California federal judge’s dismissal of a trademark and unfair competition suit against Reddit Inc. by the founder of the “WallStreetBets” message board that was the center of the ballooning of GameStop Corp.’s share value in 2021; the panel said the board’s founder failed to show that he used the name “WallStreetBets” as a mark in commerce.

  • June 12, 2025

    Judge Says Golf League’s IP Declaratory Judgment Suit Was Strategically Filed

    WILMINGTON, Del. — A Delaware federal judge said that a virtual golf league founded by Tiger Woods and others attempted to use the Declaratory Judgment Act as “a strategic device to gain some perceived tactical advantage” when it filed a declaratory judgment trademark action against a golf product company; the judge dismissed the complaint without prejudice.

  • June 12, 2025

    4th Circuit Won’t Revive Gunmaker’s IP, Contract Claims Rejected By Jurors

    RICHMOND, Va. — A Fourth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel affirmed a Virginia federal judge’s denial of a Turkish firearms manufacturer’s motion for a new trial after a jury found in favor of a defendant distributor on the manufacturer’s trademark claims, saying that the manufacturer “had its day in court.”

  • June 11, 2025

    11th Circuit Revives Georgia Park’s Trademark Claims Against Foreign IP Holder

    ATLANTA — A federal judge in Georgia applied an overly strict standard when determining if a company based in the British Virgin Islands had sufficient contacts with the United States for the purposes of establishing personal jurisdiction in a dispute over the registered trademark “Summer Waves,” a panel in the 11th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals held June 10.

  • June 04, 2025

    Judge Tosses Cybersquatting Claim From Trademark Row Over ‘Perplexity’ Name

    SAN FRANCISCO — A California federal judge dismissed a cybersquatting claim against Perplexity AI Inc. in a trademark infringement dispute brought against it by a smaller data analytics company, finding that the plaintiff company failed to establish a required showing of bad faith use of the mark on the artificial intelligence company’s part.

  • June 03, 2025

    Judge Orders Pesticide Company To Provide More Answers In IP Discovery Dispute

    COLUMBUS, Ohio — An Ohio federal magistrate judge on June 2 ordered plaintiff pesticide manufacturers identify with specificity the protectible elements of two copyrights they say were infringed by a defendant pesticide manufacturer, granting the defendant company’s motion to compel discovery in which the company accused the plaintiff entities of responding to questions about the copyrights with “evasive” answers.

  • June 03, 2025

    Federal Magistrate Says Conduct Warrants Case-Ending Sanctions In Trademark Fight

    AUSTIN, Texas — A federal magistrate judge in Texas recommended that the chief operating officer of a plastics company be given terminating sanctions for his failure to turn over his cell phone and computer for examination in a trademark infringement suit brought by Yeti Coolers LLC.