Mealey's Trademarks
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May 10, 2024
Verdict Clearing Thom Browne Of Trademark Infringement Won’t Be Undone, Panel Says
NEW YORK — In a summary order, the Second Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals found no reversible error in the jury instructions given by a federal judge in New York assigned to oversee litigation over the signature stripe trademark owned by adidas America Inc.
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May 09, 2024
Plaintiff Given 1 Week To Hand Over Social Media Logins To Gown Designer
NEW YORK — A federal judge in New York on May 8 dissolved in part and revised in part her March 1 preliminary injunction in a trademark dispute between a bridal gown company and a former designer, upon finding that the plaintiff company “failed to carry its burden of demonstrating a clear or substantial likelihood of success in establishing that it was the original owner or transferee of” two social media accounts, extinguishing a “crucial element” of its claim for conversion.
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May 09, 2024
6th Circuit Reverses Dismissal Of Trademark Case On Jurisdiction Grounds
CINCINNATI — Findings by a Tennessee federal judge that his court lacks jurisdiction over an Arizona-based trademark infringement defendant were reversed May 8 by a divided Sixth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals, which said “longstanding precedent establishes that a company’s choice to welcome customers from and regularly sell products into a state subjects the company to that state’s jurisdiction.”
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May 07, 2024
PTO Persuades Panel To Remand IFIT Appeal To Trademark Board
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Over the objection of appellant iFIT Inc., the Federal Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals has remanded the fitness company’s appeal of its failed bid to block an application to register the “I-FIT FLEX” trademark in view of a concession by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (PTO) that the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board’s ruling was light on factual support, which the agency said could hamper appellate review.
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April 30, 2024
Panel: Discretion Not Abused By Board In Sustaining Trademark Opposition
WASHINGTON, D.C. — A panel of the Federal Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals on April 30 said it will not disturb a decision by the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board that turned away an application to register the “#TODECACHO” trademark.
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April 30, 2024
Temu Beats Trademark Claims In Illinois, But Leave To Amend Granted
CHICAGO — Allegations by the maker of a hand grip strengthener that the retail platform Temu sells counterfeit products bearing the “FitBeast” trademark were dismissed without prejudice on April 29 by a federal judge in Illinois, who said the accused conduct is not a use in commerce.
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April 29, 2024
Trademark Owner Tells High Court Jurisdiction Requires Causal Link To Venue
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Impossible Foods Inc. “pushe[s] the minimum-contacts test” for jurisdiction “past its breaking point,” a petitioner argues in a reply supporting its petition for certiorari, in which it asks the U.S. Supreme Court to clarify when specific jurisdiction over a trademark defendant requires a causal relationship between the venue and purported infringement.
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April 26, 2024
N.Y. Federal Magistrate Judge Recommends Fee Denial In Clash Between Music Schools
NEW YORK — A request by a music school and its founder for reimbursement of the attorney fees they incurred in successfully defending allegations of copyright infringement, unfair competition and trade secret misappropriation should not be granted, a federal magistrate judge in New York has recommended.
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April 24, 2024
Professors Tell High Court Disgorged Profits Shouldn’t Include Separate Affiliates
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Filing an amicus curiae brief in support of a company that was hit with a $43 million disgorgement of profits award in a trademark infringement dispute, two law professors tell the U.S. Supreme Court that the Fourth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals erred in upholding the award, which exceeded the trial court's authorization under the Lanham Act to award a defendant’s profits “subject to the principles of equity.”
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April 24, 2024
Copyright, Trademark, Trade Dress Case Against TikTok Will Largely Proceed
SAN FRANCISCO — Although a motion to dismiss by TikTok Inc. was partly granted April 23, the copyright, trademark and trade dress claims by a China-based company can be repleaded in a fourth amended complaint (FAC), a federal judge in California ruled.
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April 24, 2024
On Remand From SCOTUS, Panel Takes 2nd Look At Foreign Conduct, Sales
DENVER — In a revised opinion issued April 23, the 10th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals, acting on remand from the U.S. Supreme Court, clarified that downstream, foreign sales and steps taken domestically to facilitate foreign sales cannot factor into the analysis of disgorged profits in a trademark infringement case.
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April 23, 2024
California Federal Judge Disqualifies Defense Counsel In Trademark, Antitrust Case
SAN FRANCISCO — The nearly decade-long assistance to HDMI Licensing Administrator Inc. (HDMI LA) by members of a law firm’s Beijing office bars the firm’s New York office from representing a trademark infringement defendant that has leveled antitrust counterclaims against HDMI LA, a federal judge in California ruled April 22.
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April 19, 2024
Bank Of America Beats Trademark Claims By Search Engine Operator
DENVER — Almost three years after reinstating a trademark infringement action against Bank of America Corp. (BofA), the 10th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals on April 18 affirmed a Colorado federal judge’s decision on remand to again reject the allegations.
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April 18, 2024
Laches Presumption Not Rebutted, 3rd Circuit Says, Barring Relief, Award
PHILADELPHIA — A federal judge in New Jersey in a case on remand for a second time failed to properly apply the presumption in favor of laches, the Third Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals ruled April 17 in a win for a nonprofit ordered to pay more than $7.8 million in disgorged trademark infringer’s profits it earned in Texas.
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April 17, 2024
In Trademark Row Over Conference Name, 2nd Circuit Vacates Injunction
NEW YORK — A federal judge in New York abused her discretion in preliminarily enjoining New York City and Fire Department of New York (FDNY, collectively) from using the “Medical Special Operations Conference” trademark, the Second Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals ruled April 16, deeming the term descriptive.
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April 16, 2024
Panel: Features Singled Out In Trade Dress Application Lack Distinctiveness
RICHMOND, Va. — An application to register the tube-shaped ankle collar, hexagonal eyelets and other features of Timberland boots was properly rejected by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office for lacking the distinctiveness required for trade dress protection, the Fourth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals decided April 15 in a case that drew the interest of the International Trademark Association (INTA) as amicus curiae.
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April 16, 2024
Panel: Ad Use Of Flag, Plea To Buy American Is Not Literally False
DENVER — A request for damages in connection with the use of a construction equipment company’s copyrighted photographs in alleged false advertisements that implored consumers to buy a competitor’s American-made products was rightly rejected by a federal judge in Oklahoma, the 10th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals has ruled.
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April 15, 2024
Leap Year Dooms Bid For Certiorari In Vans Trademark Litigation
WASHINGTON, D.C. — An opposed motion for leave to file a petition for a writ of certiorari out of time by the maker of “Wavy Baby” shoes accused of infringing Vans Inc.’s trademarks and trade dress was denied April 15 by the U.S. Supreme Court.
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April 12, 2024
Activision Must Face ‘Warzone’ Trademark Counterclaim In California
LOS ANGELES — A federal judge in California on April 11 lifted a previously entered stay of discovery in litigation over “Call of Duty: Warzone” and the “WARZONE” trademark, which Activision Inc. stands accused of infringing by a counterclaimant, in denying the videogame maker’s motion for judgment on the pleadings.
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April 11, 2024
Organization, Former President Argue In 11th Circuit Over Trademark Settlement
ATLANTA — An Alabama federal court had jurisdiction to issue an order memorializing the settlement terms accompanying a voluntary dismissal of trademark infringement and cybersquatting claims against its former president, a servicemembers’ families organization argues in a brief to the 11th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals, calling the ousted president’s appeal meritless.
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April 11, 2024
Sanctions Discovery Order In Trademark Row Between ICEE, Slush Puppie Stands
CINCINNATI — A federal judge in Ohio on April 10 said he won’t reconsider his August bench ruling that granted discovery on a defendant’s request for sanctions against opposing counsel, in a contractual dispute involving a fabricated trademark license that was presented as valid for more than two years of litigation.
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April 11, 2024
No Disparagement Alleged, No Advertising Injury Coverage Triggered, Panel Affirms
NEW YORK — The Second Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals held that an underlying class action lawsuit brought against the manufacturer of Wipe Out! wipes and sprays failed to allege disparagement and, therefore, its general liability insurance policy’s personal and advertising injury coverage was not triggered, affirming a federal court’s dismissal of the insured’s lawsuit seeking coverage for underlying allegations that it made false and misleading claims on the labels of three of its products.
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April 10, 2024
Judge Won’t Reconsider Ruling That OpenAI Is Mark’s Owner
SAN FRANCISCO — A company and its owner have not shown that a finding that OpenAI Inc. is the only bona fide user of a trademark requires reconsideration or was reached in error, and the defendants cannot simply change attorneys and seek “a re-do” of the resulting preliminary injunction ruling, a federal judge in California said.
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April 08, 2024
Verdict, Award In Favor Of Sprint On Trademark, ACPA Claims Upheld
ATLANTA — Efforts by sellers of counterfeit mobile phones to undo an award of $4.5 million in statutory damages in favor of Sprint Communications LLC have failed, with the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals deeming a jury verdict of cybersquatting, infringement and counterfeiting supported by ample evidence.
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April 04, 2024
California Federal Judge Offers Glimpse At Hurdles In TikTok IP Row
SAN FRANCISCO — In advance of a planned April 5 hearing on a motion to dismiss copyright infringement and false advertising claims leveled against TikTok Inc. and others, a federal judge in California has directed the video sharing app to be prepared to defend its position that the registration requirement in federal copyright law extends to copyrights registered abroad.