Popular, Lanham Act, Trademarks

Understanding the Basics: What are Trademarks and Service Marks?

Whiteford on 6/7/2024

In the realm of professional associations, establishing a strong and recognizable brand is crucial. Trademarks and service marks are essential tools that not only protect your association's brand but also enhance its...more

ITU Applicants Beware: Federal Courts Have Jurisdiction Over Pending Trademark Applications

McDermott Will & Emery on 4/11/2024

The US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit affirmed in part a district court’s ruling in a trademark dispute, upholding its decision to invalidate trademark applications. The Ninth Circuit held that district courts have...more

Artificial Intelligence Law - Intellectual Property Protection for your voice?

Vondran Legal on 1/22/2024

With the advent of AI technology capable of replicating a person's voice and utilizing it for commercial purposes, several key legal issues are likely to emerge under California's right of publicity law. The right of...more

Courts and Brand Owners Struggling With SCOTUS Decision Limiting Ability to Police Against Foreign Trademark Infringement

Seyfarth Shaw LLP on 8/9/2023

The U.S. Supreme Court’s end-of-term decision in Abitron v. Hetronic seems to have created more questions than answers about U.S. brand owners’ ability to leverage the federal Lanham Act in global trademark disputes. In the...more

To Parody or Not to Parody: The Supreme Court Weighs In

McDonnell Boehnen Hulbert & Berghoff LLP on 6/13/2023

Close on the heels of the unanimous decision in Amgen v. Sanofi, the Supreme Court handed down another unanimous decision in Jack Daniel’s v. VIP Products. Justice Kagan wrote the opinion, with Justice Sotomayor and Justice...more

Hermès Successfully Defends its Trademark in the Metaverse

Morrison & Foerster LLP on 2/10/2023

How far does a trademark extend into the digital art world? French luxury fashion brand Hermès sought to answer this question in its precedent-setting case against artist Mason Rothschild, which concluded with a win for...more

Intellectual Property Law: Looking Forward to 2023

Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft LLP on 12/16/2022

With the continuing advancements of cutting-edge technologies — such as genome editing (CRISPR) and Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs) — U.S. courts will have a full docket of challenging IP cases throughout 2023. Below are some of...more

First a Meme, Then a Cryptocurrency, and Now an $80 Billion Brand? Dogecoin Continues Its Rollercoaster Journey into the USPTO.

Dorsey & Whitney LLP on 10/5/2021

What first started as a meme featuring a fluffy dog with poor grammar has now resulted in a trademark fight over the ownership of an estimated $80 billion brand. If the progression of this Internet sensation has left your...more

IP Implications of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021

McDermott Will & Emery on 1/14/2021

On December 27, 2020, Congress signed the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021, into law. The omnibus act includes new legislation affecting patent, copyright and trademark law. A brief summary of key provisions is provided...more

Booking.whocares: SCOTUS Issues a Headline-Making Trademark Decision… But Does It Really Matter?

Foley Hoag LLP - Making Your Mark on 7/10/2020

On June 30, amidst the traditional flurry of end-of-term opinions, the Supreme Court issued its decision in the first case to have been argued before it via teleconference, United States Patent and Trademark Office et al. v....more

OTA & Travel Distribution Update: Radisson partners with Hotelbeds; Expedia offers more details on its partner recovery program

Foster Garvey PC on 7/10/2020

Perhaps it was Canada Day or the Fourth of July holiday weekend, but last week was relatively quiet in the distribution world. Enjoy....more

Booking.Com Secures Key Trademark Win From Supreme Court – Internet Domain Name Marks Aren’t Always Generic

Polsinelli on 7/7/2020

In the ruling handed down this week in United States Patent and Trademark Office v. Booking.com B.V., No. 19-46, the United States Supreme Court voted 8-1 to affirm lower court rulings holding the trademark applications for...more

Supreme Court Holds “Generic.com” Marks are Not Per Se Generic

Stinson LLP on 7/4/2020

In an 8-1 decision issued Tuesday, the Supreme Court declined to adopt the per se rule urged by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) that when a generic term is combined with a domain name like “.com,” the resulting...more

3M Strikes Against N95 Mask Price Gouging

Sunstein LLP on 6/8/2020

3M Company is well known for its vigilant program of trademark protection, and that has been underscored during the pandemic. Most recently, 3M obtained a sweeping preliminary injunction in the Sothern District of New York...more

US Supreme Court Rejects Willfulness Requirement for Profit Awards in Trademark Infringement Cases

Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP on 4/26/2020

On April 23, 2020, the U.S. Supreme Court unanimously ruled that a plaintiff is not required to prove that a defendant’s misconduct was willful in order to obtain an award of a defendant’s profits in trademark infringement...more

Why Register My Trademark? The Benefits of Trademark Registration

Jaburg Wilk on 9/17/2019

A trademark is a word, name, or symbol used to identify and distinguish a seller’s product from those of others. A trademark is part of a company’s brand. It is the embodiment of the company’s reputation. Over time, a...more

Humvee Goes Into Battle: Will Its Trademarks Leave Tread Marks on Video Game Makers?

Sunstein LLP on 8/25/2019

The realism of video games is intensified by the inclusion of products and brands we recognize from daily life. Can the thrill of such verisimilitude coexist alongside the rights of trademark owners?...more

Unprotectable Generic Trademarks + Top-Level Domains = Protectable Trademarks

Weintraub Tobin on 2/15/2019

Generic trademarks are those which, due to their popularity and/or common usage, have become synonymous with the products or services. Such trademarks include Kleenex, Band-Aid, Jeep, Aspirin, and Cellophane. Such marks,...more

Getting the Brand Back Together: Are Dead Trademarks Free to Use?

Pillsbury - Internet & Social Media Law Blog on 4/2/2018

It’s Monday, and you’re at the local coffee stand with your work buddies sipping pour-overs made from freshly roasted fair trade beans. Brad from accounting is telling everyone about the new show he just binged on Netflix....more

Significant Intellectual Property Trademark Decisions

Harris Beach PLLC on 3/27/2018

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

First Amendment 2 – Lanham Act 0: Federal Circuit Holds Lanham Act Prohibition on Immoral and Scandalous Marks Is Unconstitutional...

Fish & Richardson on 1/9/2018

In the wake of the In re Tam decision by the U.S. Supreme Court, on December 15, 2017, the Federal Circuit held that the Lanham Act Section 2(a) prohibition on the registration of immoral and scandalous marks is a...more

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