Pamela Chestek
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Beneficial Owners Don’t Have Standing
The Eastern District of Virginia recently held that a beneficial owner of a patent has standing to bring an infringement claim. It appears the Federal Circuit disagrees. The ‘451 patent was invented by Mayer Michael Lebowitz and James Seivert, both deceased. The Lebowitz Trust now owns Mr. Lebowitz’s ownership interest in the patent. The Trust… Continue reading
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Zombie Department Stores Rise (as ugly t-shirts)
There’s been a fair amount written about “heritage,” “dead” or “zombie” brands, including by me. These are brands that aren’t being used anymore by the original owner, but they still have resonance with consumers. A third party comes along specifically with the intent of exploiting the consumer recognition by creating a new offering around the… Continue reading
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Must All Trademark Owners be Joined?
Yesterday’s post covered the relative ownership of the trademarks YOGI and YOGI TEA between cross-claimant Bibiji Inderjit Kaur Puri (“Bibiji”) and Golden Temple of Oregon (“GTO”), where an arbitration held that Bibiji was the owner of the trademarks. GTO therefore dropped its infringement claim against defendant Wai Lana Productions, but Bibiji’s claim against Wai Lana… Continue reading
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Who Owns the Mark Used by a Bunch of People?
Like life, trademark ownership can get complicated. About a year and a half ago I reported on a brewing dispute over the ownership of the trademark YOGI TEA. Golden Temple of Oregon (GTO) sued Wai Lana Productions for trademark infringement of its YOGI and YOGI TEA mark. Wai Lana defended itself on the basis that… Continue reading
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Bratz Copied, But Didn’t Infringe
Awhile back I reported on a new infringement lawsuit involving the Bratz dolls, this time a claim by a photographer that the dolls infringed an ad the photographer created for apparel and footwear company Steve Madden: Carter Bryant, the designer of the Bratz dolls, gave the ad to the sculptor who created the first “sculpt”… Continue reading
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When You Can Change the Name of the Registrant
A short primer from the TTAB on when one can correct the name of an incorrectly named registrant and when instead the application is void ab initio. In Key West Innkeeper’s Association, Inc. v. The Popular House, Inc., the application was filed in the name of “Carlson,Jody,E”, a corporation, then the applicant was changed during… Continue reading
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It Seemed Like a Good Idea at the Time
Popeye vs. Popeyes: the owner of Popeyes “quick service” restaurants, AFC Enterprises, Inc., has filed a Complaint for Declaratory Judgment asking the court to declare that it, not the Hearst Corporation, owner of the Popeye cartoon character, is the owner of the trademark POPEYES for restaurant services. The dispute exists because AFC Enterprises originally licensed… Continue reading
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Litigation Strategy
Here’s a TTAB case that I think presents an interesting procedural question. The situation: Bello Fitness Ltda, petitioner, is a Brazilian clothing manufacturer. It owns the BODY UP mark in Brazil and had a relationship with non-party Body Up, LLC to distribute the BODY UP clothing in the U.S. Fernando Homem da Costa Filho was… Continue reading
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11th Circuit Affirms Email Exchange as Contract
You may recall a dispute between an individual named Rafael Vergara Hermosilla and Coca-Cola about the ownership of Spanish lyrics Vergara wrote that Coca-Cola used in its World Cup advertising. First, Vergara filed a motion for a preliminary injunction and Coca-Cola was ordered to provide credit to Vergara. The 11th Circuit affirmed. However, on summary… Continue reading
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