Pamela Chestek
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Buy Your U.S. Cohiba Cigars Now
You know a lawsuit has been going on a long time when the decision starts with “The parties’ familiarity with the prior proceedings and facts underlying this dispute is assumed. In brief,” and then goes on for 7 pages of a 33 page opinion just to explain the procedural history of the case. Empresa Cubana… Continue reading
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Not So Fast
In Halicki Films, LLC v. Sanderson Sales & Marketing, plaintiff Denice Shakarian Halicki and various related entities owned some rights – exactly what, to be decided by the court – in Eleanor, billed as “the only Ford Mustang in history to receive STARRING credit in a motion picture.” There are really two Eleanors: a yellow… Continue reading
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You Still Have to Own the Copyright
The requirement for a written assignment of copyright can bedevil a copyright claimant, as in Tacori Enterprises v. Rego Manufacturing. In Tacori, the plaintiff was vulnerable because the assignment of copyright was not in a writing, although the original copyright owner and assignee agreed that the copyright had been assigned. Luckily for copyright owners, the… Continue reading
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Mowing Trademarks Down
A recent New York case explores a trademark licensor’s tort liability for defective merchandise, but with a twist: the licensor is a wholly-owned trademark holding company. The biggest lesson from the case is “get the left hand talking to the right.” Here, a low-probability, ultimately unsuccessful defense in a tort case only succeeded in providing… Continue reading
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Bratz Arguments
The parties in the Barbie vs. Bratz battle were in court Monday on post-trial motions (blogged here). Read the news here. © 2008 Pamela Chestek Continue reading
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The Dark Underbelly of Teddy Bear Puppies
I’ve mentioned in the past that the naked licensing doctrine has taken on a life of its own disconnected from the statutory basis for it, abandonment. Fuller v. Heintz/Candee takes the naked licensing doctrine to an extreme, apparently holding that only one “naked license” is enough to invalidate the trademark. The case is tantalizing in… Continue reading
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The Melody Can Barely be Heard
Class 46 brings our attention to the auction of a Spanish brand for a department store chain “Galerías Preciados.” Fogasa, an agency of the Spanish Ministry of Labor and Education, acquired the family of marks as the result of a bankruptcy. Fogasa has tried to auction the brand three times; in 1997 the value was… Continue reading
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What’s on Your Pocket?
Not surprisingly, Levi Strauss & Co. v. Abercrombie & Fitch Trading Co. is a case about enforcing the “arcuate” pocket stitching design on Levi’s jeans. Levi’s is not one to be meek in enforcing its registered trademark, shown below:But it’s butting up against a litigious player in its own right, Abercrombie & Fitch (various dockets… Continue reading
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Application as Registration
William Patry is vocal in his disagreement with Nimmer about whether § 411(a) of the Copyright Act requires the issuance of a Certificate of Registration before suit can be filed. Patry says “yes,” Nimmer says “no.” 2 Nimmer on Copyright § 7.16[B][1]. CHM Industries v. Structural & Steel Products, Inc. demonstrates the mischief that can… Continue reading
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Bad News Two Days In a Row
Adding insult to injury after yesterday’s post, in which the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit affirmed a decision that Oren Tavory wasn’t a co-owner of the NTP patents, in a separate decision the Federal Circuit affirmed that he also owed NTP the attorneys’ fees it incurred defending against his copyright suit. Mr. Tavory… Continue reading
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