Pamela Chestek
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Remember the Details
This case demonstrates why you follow up to make sure tasks get completed. Sometimes it’s the little details that get you … Vincent Heck is the sole member of plaintiff Clarity Software LLC, a company that distributes software. Heck wrote the original software, owned a couple of companies and licensed the software to those companies… Continue reading
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It’s All About the Words
Here’s a short one. We have co-inventors, the relevant one is James McGhie. He was an inventor on a patent of which the patent-in-suit was a continuation-in-part. McGhie assigned the original patent to the predecessor-in-interest of the plaintiff, but didn’t assign his ownership of the continuation-in-part. The plaintiff argued that the assignment of the parent… Continue reading
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The Promiscuous Licensor
I recently took the federal courts to task for what I submit is a disconnect between the statutory definition of “abandonment” and the “naked license” defense. My argument is that trademark owners are simply being punished for behavior that is seen as too lax, without any regard for whether that laxness has actually effected a… Continue reading
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How to Put a Dead Stop to a Patent Infringement Suit … For Now
I previously wrote about a Federal Circuit decision with a bit of an odd fact pattern. There was some kind of joint development between the University of New Mexico (UNM) and Sandia. A Sandia inventor assigned a resulting patent, the ‘998 patent, to UNM instead of his employer, Sandia. UNM then assigned the patent to… Continue reading
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STOLICHNAYA Case Still Alive, Just Barely
Oh, Federal Treasury Enterprise Sojuzplodoimport, without you I wouldn’t be so good at spelling “Stolichnaya.”* I’ve lost count of the opinions talking about who owns the STOLICHNAYA trademark and we’re now on the second lawsuit over it. It all stems from a disputed claim of ownership of the STOLICHNAYA mark in the United States. To… Continue reading
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A Partner is Not Hired to Invent
We have an interesting “employed to invent” story which arose in what I suspect can be the most common of situations—two people invent a product, form a company to commercialize it, file a patent application, and then have a falling out before the patent application is even completed. Who owns the patent? In Legacy Seating,… Continue reading
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Let’s Kill the “Naked License” Defense
Those of you who have been reading my blog for awhile know that I’m not a fan of the naked licensing defense. The Trademark Reporter was kind enough to print a Comment I wrote explaining why I dislike it so. Click on the image for a copy. Thanks to The Trademark Reporter for granting permission… Continue reading
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Refusing to Execute the Documents
Songwriters Daniel Cohen and Julie Didier owned their own publishing company, Bayou Blanc Music Company, which owned the copyrights in their songs. When they divorced in 1985, the divorce decree incorporated an agreement that Didier would continue to own Bayou Blanc but she would transfer Cohen’s pro rata share of the copyright ownership in all… Continue reading
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A Short Lesson on Trademark Coexistence Agreements
The restaurants in the Benihana chain have two different owners, divided by territory. Defendant Benihana, Inc. (“BI”) owns the BENIHANA trademark in the United States, Central America, South America, and the islands of the Caribbean, the “Territory.” Plaintiff Benihana of Tokyo, Inc. (alert! noisy autoplay link) (“BOT”) owns the rights to the BENIHANA trademark outside… Continue reading
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Schooling on Unincorporated Associations
The Ninth Circuit has given us a lesson on unincorporated associations and two different legal concerns when one is involved in a trademark infringement lawsuit: the association’s capacity to own trademarks and to bring a lawsuit for infringement. The plaintiff is the Southern California Darts Association (“SoCal”), which promotes darts competitions and coordinates leagues. It… Continue reading
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