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Free Speech Trademark Litigation Trademarks

Dorsey & Whitney LLP

Is the Art of Parody Dead? - Implications of SCOTUS Jack Daniel’s Opinion A Year Later

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It has been a year since the Supreme Court issued its decision in the multiple-year legal battle between VIP Products LLC and Jack Daniel’s. We covered this dispute when it was back at the 9th Circuit....more

Bradley Arant Boult Cummings LLP

Trademarking History: Justices Uphold Names Clause, Clash Over Reasoning

On June 13, 2024, the Supreme Court handed down its decision in Vidal v. Elster, a case that pitted trademark law against the First Amendment’s free speech protections. While the Court unanimously upheld the Patent and...more

McDermott Will & Emery

Supreme Court Upholds Constitutionality of Lanham Act’s Names Clause

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In Vidal v. Elster, a unanimous Supreme Court of the United States reversed the US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit’s decision, holding that the Lanham Act’s names clause does not violate the First Amendment or...more

Seyfarth Shaw LLP

Lanham Act’s Personal Names Restriction Does Not Violate First Amendment

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As expected, based on the tenor of the Justices’ questions during oral argument, the U.S. Supreme Court has ruled against a trademark applicant seeking to register a mark commenting on former President Donald Trump. The...more

Troutman Pepper

Supreme Court Upholds Names Clause in Trademark Law, Emphasizing Historical and Traditional Foundations

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In a landmark decision written by Justice Clarence Thomas, the Supreme Court has unanimously upheld the constitutionality of the Lanham Act’s provision that prohibits the registration of trademarks consisting of, or...more

McDermott Will & Emery

[Webinar] 2024 IP Outlook: Trends Affecting Patent, Trademark, Copyright and Trade Secret Holders - December 12th, 1:00 pm - 2:00...

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As 2023 draws to a close, new developments continue to emerge across the patent, trademark, copyright and trade secret spaces. Join members of McDermott’s Intellectual Property Group for a year-end review that will explore...more

Foster Garvey PC

Supreme Court Reinforces Trademark Protections for Brand Owners in Jack Daniel’s Decision

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The recent Supreme Court decision in the Jack Daniel's trademark lawsuit against a dog toy manufacturer has significant implications for both brand owners and those seeking to parody established trademarks....more

Jones Day

SCOTUS Holds Whiskey-Themed Dog Toy Not Entitled to First Amendment Protection

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In a closely watched trademark infringement case, the Supreme Court of the United States held that when an alleged infringer uses a trademark as a source identifier for the infringer's own products, the First Amendment does...more

Coblentz Patch Duffy & Bass

Supreme Court’s Bad Spaniels Decision Limits Parody Defense to Trademark Infringement

On June 8, 2023, the Supreme Court issued a unanimous decision in Jack Daniel’s Properties, Inc. v. VIP Products, limiting the scope of a parody defense to a trademark infringement claim...more

Amundsen Davis LLC

Supreme Court Rules in Favor of Commercial Use Over Dog Toy Parody in Trademark Case

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On June 8, 2023, in a unanimous decision, the Supreme Court of the United States found in favor of Jack Daniel’s in deciding that a whiskey bottle-inspired dog toy, “Bad Spaniels,” used Jack Daniel’s trademarks in a...more

Seyfarth Shaw LLP

SCOTUS Finds Dog Poop Jokes Reek of Infringement

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The U.S. Supreme Court has unanimously rejected the Ninth Circuit’s opinion that a poop-themed dog toy should be protected as parody under the First Amendment. SCOTUS ruled today in Jack Daniel’s Properties Inc. v. VIP...more

Warner Norcross + Judd

Identifying the Source of Goods and Services Is No Laughing Matter

On June 8, 2023, the United States Supreme Court clarified an important unanswered question about the line between the First Amendment’s freedom of speech and trademark owners’ rights under the Lanham Act. In a unanimous, 9-0...more

McDonnell Boehnen Hulbert & Berghoff LLP

Parody, trademarks and the courts

Delineating the boundaries between trademark protection and protected speech has been a long-contested legal issue. On one hand, the Lanham Act governs the use of trademarks to protect consumers from a likelihood of confusion...more

Latham & Watkins LLP

Bored Apes Scores Win in Protecting Its Trademarks

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In a major Web3 trademark infringement case, NFT creators prevail over those with a bad-faith intent to profit. On April 21, 2023, Yuga Labs, the original creators of the Board Ape Yacht Club (BAYC) non-fungible token...more

Polsinelli

Relax Jack...It’s Only a Joke!

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Jack Daniel’s Properties, Inc. v. VIP Products LLC. (Docket 22-148) On March 22, 2023, VIP Products LLC told the Supreme Court that its parody Bad Spaniels whiskey-bottle-shaped dog toys do not violate the Lanham Act...more

International Lawyers Network

Free Speech, Chatting About Friends, Kraken/Crackin’ On AI, & Thinking About Fred & Ginger: Generated Content, Amici Curiae, & A...

Lots of people are talking about ChatGPT. Some, like those at Microsoft, see it as a valuable tool to be integrated into their products and platforms; indeed, one of its lawyers thought that the answer provided by ChatGPT...more

McDermott Will & Emery

On the Border of Art and Trademark: First Amendment Trumps the Lanham Act

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The US Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit weighed trademark rights against free speech considerations and found that the First Amendment protected use of an artistic work that was not deliberately misleading. MGFB...more

McDermott Will & Emery

“TRUMP TOO SMALL” Trademark Decision Leaves Big Questions

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Revisiting jurisprudence touching on the Lanham Act and the First Amendment from the Supreme Court’s decisions in Matal v. Tam and Iancu v. Brunetti, the US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit held that applying Sec....more

Sunstein LLP

Activision Wins the (Trademark) War: First Amendment Protects Depiction of Humvees in Realistic Video Games

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A federal judge in New York recently held that the First Amendment right to convey realism in video games can outweigh trademark rights. Activision Blizzard makes one of the world’s most popular video games. Call of Duty...more

Dorsey & Whitney LLP

This Could Change Everything: Nike Appeals Fleet Feet Injunction on Basis of Free Speech

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Fleet Feet, Inc. is a national running equipment retail store chain and owner of the trademarks CHANGE EVERYTHING and RUNNING CHANGES EVERYTHING for retail sporting goods stores and athletic apparel and related goods and...more

Harris Beach PLLC

Significant Intellectual Property Trademark Decisions

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2017 was a year filled with significant developments in case law for trademarks. The below rulings highlight some successes and obstacles faced by companies in the protection of their trademarks and their brand as a whole. ...more

Ladas & Parry LLP

Washington Redskins’ Us Trademark Registrations Reinstated By The Fourth Circuit

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On January 18, 2018, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit reinstated the Washington Redskins’ federal trademark registrations originally cancelled by the Trademark Trials and Appeals Board (“TTAB”) in 2014 in...more

Ladas & Parry LLP

Refusal To Register Scandalous And Immoral Trademarks Ruled As Unconsitutional By Federal Circuit

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Following the Supreme Court’s ruling in In re Tam that a refusal to register disparaging trademarks is an unconstitutional violation of freedom of speech reported on June 19, 2017, the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit...more

Fish & Richardson

Matal v. Tam : The Supreme Courts Sacks the Ban on Disparaging Trademarks

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The decision in Matal v. Tam is a resounding reaffirmation of the First Amendment freedom of speech in a commercial context. The Supreme Court has spoken loud and clear that Section 2(a) of the Lanham Act (the...more

Foley Hoag LLP - Making Your Mark

Fall Is In The Air: Are The Justices Getting Ready For The Gridiron?

The Washington Redskins Ask The Supreme Court To Block Fourth Circuit From Participation In Important Trademark Cases Another Labor Day is behind us, kids are back to school, and fall has unofficially arrived (it will...more

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