(Podcast) The Briefing: Thirsty for Clarity – Brand Confusion In The Beverage Category
The Briefing: Thirsty for Clarity – Brand Confusion In The Beverage Category
The IP of Everything Podcast - Episode 22 - The IP of Dog Toys
The Briefing: Ninth Circuit Pulls Back Rogers Test in Light of Jack Daniels Decision
Supreme Court Miniseries: Zero Spoof Whiskey
Podcast - The Briefing by the IP Law Blog: Bad Spaniels in the Doghouse – Jack Daniels Prevails in Trademark Fight
The Briefing by the IP Law Blog: Bad Spaniels in the Doghouse – Jack Daniels Prevails in Trademark Fight
Podcast: The Briefing by the IP Law Blog - Mattel Isn’t Toying Around About Nicki Minaj Barbie-Que Chips
The Briefing by the IP Law Blog: Mattel Isn’t Toying Around About Nicki Minaj Barbie-Que Chips
Podcast: The Briefing by the IP Law Blog - 2nd Circuit to Determine if Rogers Test Fits Shoe Trade Dress Dispute Between MISCHF and Vans
The Briefing by the IP Law Blog: 2nd Circuit to Determine if Rogers Test Fits Shoe Trade Dress Dispute Between MISCHF and Vans
Podcast: The Briefing by the IP Law Blog - Cookie Co’s Motion to Dismiss Trademark Lawsuit by Restaurant Crumbles
The Briefing by the IP Law Blog: Cookie Co’s Motion to Dismiss Trademark Lawsuit by Restaurant Crumbles
Podcast: The Briefing by the IP Law Blog - Court Melts Ice Cube's Trademark Lawsuit against Robinhood + Update
The Briefing by the IP Law Blog: Court Melts Ice Cube's Trademark Lawsuit against Robinhood + Update
BULLSHINE DISTILLERY LLC v. SAZERAC BRANDS, LLC - Before Moore, Reyna and Taranto. Appeal from the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board. In assessing genericness, the TTAB considers how the mark was understood at the time of...more
In Re R.S. Lipman Brewing Co., LLC, 2025 WL 1099603 (Fed. Cir. Apr. 14, 2025) - Be careful when selecting a name for your product, otherwise you might find yourself cooked at the United States Patent and Trademark Office...more
To represent a client before Court in respect of a potential trademark infringement matter, do you require a Power of Attorney – and if so, what are the execution formalities required by your courts? No. A specific power of...more
The US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit affirmed the Trademark Trial & Appeal Board’s dismissal of an opposition to the registration of the marks IVOTERS and IVOTERS.COM while also noting that the US Patent &...more
A recent federal court decision highlights the delicate balance between U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) guidance and trade dress protections for drugs administered in a tablet or capsule form. Last month, a district...more
The US Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit vacated a district court’s decision finding no infringement that focused on only the geographic distance between the physical locations of the two users without considering the...more
On March 20, 2025, the U.S. Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (TTAB) granted an opposition filed by Jack’s Family Restaurants, LP, and denied an application filed by Jack’s Grill and Billiards, Inc., to register JACK’S...more
In a precedential decision invoking the “zone of natural expansion” doctrine, on March 19, 2025, the Federal Circuit upheld a decision by the U.S. Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (TTAB) cancelling in part registrations for...more
Many business owners view trademark registration as a smart investment—and they’re right. A federal registration gives you valuable legal advantages, including nationwide priority, a presumption of ownership, and stronger...more
The US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit upheld a Trademark Trial & Appeal Board decision to partially cancel trademarks, ruling that an opposition challenger could not use the zone of natural expansion doctrine to...more
On March 21, 2025, I participated in a spirited panel at the annual IP symposium hosted by the Penn Intellectual Property Group (PIPG) at the University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School. Titled “How Far Should Trademark...more
Identical trademarks can coexist, as the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board once again emphasized when it overturned the refusal of a COMPASSION IN ACTION mark. ...more
The US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit affirmed Trademark Trial & Appeal Board rulings, finding that a previously generic term was not generic at the time registration was sought because at that time the mark, as...more
The battle over beauty “dupes” just got more interesting. In a major win for e.l.f. Cosmetics, a California federal judge ruled that its Lash ’N Roll mascara doesn’t infringe the trademarks and trade dress of Benefit...more
John Wick is a highly successful film franchise starring Keanu Reeves as a hitman who reluctantly emerges from retirement to avenge the killing of his pet beagle (among other offenses committed by a group of not-very-nice...more
Summary Trade dress is a powerful intellectual property (IP) tool that can be used to protect the distinctive non-functional “look and feel" of a product’s design, shape and/or 3D configuration.[1] Product manufacturers and...more
After a decade of litigation and a pivotal Supreme Court ruling from 2023, the legal battle between Jack Daniel’s and VIP Products has taken yet another turn, this time back in favor of Jack Daniel’s. On remand from the...more
Pop star Katy Perry has successfully appealed a Federal Court ruling over the use of an Australian designer’s trade mark registration for the words KATIE PERRY. The recent decision by the Full Court of the Federal Court...more
Addressing this case for the third time, the US District Court for the District of Arizona found on remand that Jack Daniel’s was entitled to a permanent injunction after finding that VIP Products’ “Bad Spaniels” dog toy...more
School merch is big business. Students want sweats, mugs and the like to show they belong at the school. Alums want merch to show they went to the school. Other purchasers want merch as an aspirational statement, or to...more
Seven years ago today, Jack Daniel’s was no doubt riding high. The U.S. District Court for the District of Arizona gave Jack a big shot in the arm with a trademark infringement and dilution victory over Bad Spaniel’s...more
When, if ever, is it okay to use a trademark in U.S. commerce that is identical to another company’s mark used outside the U.S.? Courts have struggled with this issue for years, and the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office...more
You might be wondering what cognac, hip-hop and fame have in common. The answer, at least in a recent opinion by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, is certification trademarks. We have written in the past...more
Many eyes were on the Nittany Lions this past year as sports pundits speculated The Pennsylvania State University (Penn State) would make it to the College Football National Championship. But those with an interest in...more
At a glance, a unanimous Supreme Court, holding that two provisions of the trademark-governing Lanham Act (15 U.S.C. §§ 1114(1)(a) and 1125(a)(1)) do not apply extraterritorially and extend only to alleged infringement in...more