Pamela Chestek
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I Have Never Seen An Ownership Case So Complicated
I’ve read a lot of cases with convoluted fact patterns, which I guess is how they end up in litigation. But C.F.M. Dist. Co. v. Costantine, an opposition before the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board, is in the stratosphere of convoluted. Not surprisingly, it’s about a family business. In a 44-page decision, 4 pages are… Continue reading
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Sixth Circuit Saves the Day
A while back I started a post this way: What a mess. Add up ugly facts and a court that bought a frivolous and completely wrong argument (made without citation – because there aren’t any) and you end up with a fiasco. Here’s to appeals. And the appeal is here. Muuuchhh better! Defendant Steven Brandeberry… Continue reading
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When a Logo Has Two Owners
The last two posts were about a case, DeliverMed Holdings, LLC v. Schaltenbrand, involving ownership of a logo. In the first post, it turned out that the copyright in the logo was still owned by the designer, not the company using the logo. @WatermarkIAM tweeted a caution: “You must make sure #copyright ownership is clear… Continue reading
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The Tale, Part II
DeliverMed Holdings LLC v. Schaltenbrand is a dispute about a failed business involving the tagline “Right at Home, the trademark “DeliverMed,” and a “mortar and pestle” logo: In the last post we covered the court’s opinion, after a bench trial, on the ownership and infringement of the copyright in the logo. Score one for the… Continue reading
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A Tale of Two Views of a Business Venture
Sometimes you just can’t do better than the court in setting up a story: It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of… Continue reading
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For the Want of an Assignment Agreement
What we have in Anderson v. TOL, Inc. is the kind of case that makes lawyers’ heads hurt. In 2003, while Plaintiff Lloyd Anderson was in Chapter 13 bankruptcy, he formed PhoenixArts LLC, of which he was the President and sole owner. A few days later, he filed his first of three patent applications for… Continue reading
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Billy-Bob Teeth Bites Again
I recently wrote about the difference between standing in patent cases and copyright cases, and the always erudite Ron Coleman over at Likelihood of Confusion contributed on the topic. There is, in my mind, a flaw in copyright jurisprudence that essentially bars a defendant from challenging the chain of title for ownership of a copyright.… Continue reading
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Assignor Estoppel is Only a Shield
Here’s a bit of an odd case — too much of a stretch for the court’s taste, but I suppose a hat tip for the try, and the plaintiff got out of it without being sanctioned. The case involves “assignor estoppel.” Assignor estoppel is an equitable doctrine that prevents an assignor of a patent from… Continue reading
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Waiting Too Long
Medical Products Laboratories, Inc. v. Premier Dental Products Co. had the makings of a good tale about joint ownership of a trademark, but alas, it was decided on a statute of limitations basis rather than anything more substantive. Maybe we’ll see something later in the state court. Medical Products was a contract manufacturer for Premier… Continue reading
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