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Mealey's Trademarks

  • August 15, 2025

    2nd Circuit Affirms Co-Ownership Of ‘Zioness’ Mark, Vacates Fee Denial

    NEW YORK — A panel in the Second Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals affirmed a federal jury’s finding that two pro-Zionist advocacy groups were the co-owners of the trademark “Zioness,” holding that sufficient evidence supported a finding that there was overlap of use of the mark before its registration.

  • August 13, 2025

    ‘Space Force’ Mark Applicant Takes Rejection To High Court, Citing Loper

    WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Federal Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals inappropriately deferred to the interpretation used by the U.S. Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (TTAB) of a section of the Lanham Act when affirming the TTAB’s rejection of an attorney’s application for a mark on US SPACE FORCE filed only days after President Donald J. Trump’s first proposals regarding the branch, the attorney told the U.S. Supreme Court in a petition for a writ of certiorari.

  • August 08, 2025

    Federal Circuit: TTAB Should Have Found Drink Mark Similar To Sunkist’s Mark

    WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (TTAB) incorrectly held that two marks for soft drinks that both involve the word “Kist” are unlikely to be confused, a Federal Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel held, reversing in favor of Sunkist Growers Inc.

  • August 07, 2025

    Judge Says Plaintiff Entity Can’t Show It Used Indian Political Mark First

    DALLAS — A Texas federal judge held that a plaintiff organization based in Texas that supports a political party in India cannot show that it claims priority to its name, agreeing that the defendant entity used its “nearly identical” name before the plaintiff entity came into existence.

  • August 06, 2025

    Federal Judge Reverses TTAB’s Finding That Apple AR Trademarks Are Descriptive

    ALEXANDRIA, Va. — A Virginia federal judge ordered the registration of Apple Inc.’s proposed trademarks “Reality Composer” and “Reality Converter” for augmented reality (AR) products, finding that the U.S. Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (TTAB) incorrectly held that the proposed marks were merely descriptive and thus not trademark eligible.

  • August 04, 2025

    9th Circuit: Reverse Confusion Analysis Correct In Peloton Infringement Suit

    SAN FRANCISCO — A Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel held that factors “overwhelmingly” favored a finding that Peloton Interactive Inc.’s “Peloton Bike+” was not likely to be confused with a mobile app called “Bike+,” affirming a California federal judge’s grant of summary judgment in Peloton’s favor on a trademark infringement claim.

  • July 30, 2025

    9th Circuit: Use Of Drag Queen’s Image In Netflix Cartoon Not Infringing

    SAN FRANCISCO — A Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel agreed that a “fleeting” use of a drag performer’s likeness in an animated show released by Netflix Inc. was not used to designate the show’s source, affirming a California federal judge’s dismissal of the performer’s infringement suit against the company and related film entities.

  • July 30, 2025

    Judge Dismisses Counterclaims Filed Against Lilly In Diet Drugs’ Trademarks Case

    SEATTLE — A Washington federal judge dismissed with prejudice an abuse of process counterclaim filed by medical centers and two physicians who prescribe patients compounded versions of tirzepatide, a Food and Drug Administration-approved drug for diabetes and weight loss, against Eli Lilly and Co., noting that “this is far from a close call.”

  • July 28, 2025

    AI Chatbots Replicate Tony Robbins’ Protected Works, Motivational Speaker Says

    LOS ANGELES — Two companies promote artificial intelligence chatbot replicas of Tony Robbins using his image, persona, methodologies and other protected material, the motivational speaker’s companies say in a complaint filed in a federal court in California alleging “digital, commercialized impersonation and misappropriation.”

  • July 25, 2025

    Federal Circuit OKs Judgment On Patent, Copyright, Other Claims On Steel Brace

    WASHINGTON, D.C. — A steel company failed to show that a construction company infringed its patent describing a type of bracing for preventing seismic damage to buildings, a panel in the Federal Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals held, affirming a Utah federal judge’s grant of summary judgment in the construction company’s favor.

  • July 25, 2025

    9th Circuit: Bored Ape NFTs Trademarkable, But Confusion Not Shown

    SAN FRANCISCO — While a panel in the Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals agreed with the makers of Bored Ape Yacht Club nonfungible tokens (NFTs) that NFTs are trademarkable “goods” as defined in the Lanham Act, the panel reversed summary judgment in the company’s favor on trademark infringement and cybersquatting claims because it failed to show convincingly that consumers would confuse its NFTs with other ape-themed products from two defendants lampooning the original NFTs.

  • 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.