trademark
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It’s Best If the Registrant Files the Lawsuit
This is something that I probably shouldn’t have to blog about, but here we are. Plaintiff Palm Beach Concours LLC filed a complaint against defendant SuperCar Week, Inc. for: Count I, trademark infringement in violation of 15 U.S.C. § 1114 (infringement of a registered trademark); Count II for unfair competition in violation of 15 U.S.C.… Continue reading
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Even an Exclusive Licensee Can’t Sue the Trademark Owner for Infringement
This might strike you as odd. An exclusive licensee of a copyright can sue the copyright owner for infringement, Essex Music, Inc. v. ABKCO Music & Recs., Inc., 743 F. Supp. 237, 241 (S.D.N.Y. 1990), and a exclusive licensee of a patent can sue the patent owner for infringement, Ortho Pharm. Corp. v. Genetics Inst.,… Continue reading
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Who ChatGPT Thinks Owns a Trademark
I asked ChatGPT to “please write a blog post about how to decide who owns a trademark.” Here goes: Deciding who owns a trademark can be a complex legal issue, and it’s important to consult with an experienced trademark attorney to ensure that your rights are protected. In general, the owner of a trademark is… Continue reading
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It’s a Really Good Idea to Get the Contract Signed
Not signing the agreement wasn’t fatal to the plaintiff’s claim, but it might have avoided the lawsuit altogether. Plaintiff Olson Kundig is an architectural firm whose owner and design principal is Tom Kundig. Defendant 12th Avenue Iron is a custom architectural metalwork fabricator owned by Stephen Marks. In 2009 Kundig and Marks decided to work… Continue reading
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The Opposition, Cancellation and District Court Trifecta
Here we have multiple businesses originally operated by a husband and wife, now divorced and now adverse to each other, and the same rights to the same trademark litigated in three different venues. There are a couple of lessons here. One, put forward your best case at the TTAB. If you lose at the TTAB… Continue reading
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The Original Trademark Owner Accused of Infringement
In Unisource Discovery, Inc. v. Unisource Discovery, LLC, we have a trademark ownership decision masquarading as a likelihood of confusion analysis. The same mark was used by two entities cooperatively for a number of years without any formal licensing arrangement. As happens there was a falling out, and now the two are dueling over who… Continue reading
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So You Can Tack — Now What?
It’s not unusual for those involved in charitable work to have trademark ownership issues. I suspect it is because the organizations are largely volunteer-driven without, at least at first, any formal business organization or structure. They are also often ideologically driven, which means that different views on the group’s direction will cause a schism. In… Continue reading
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Assigning a Trademark Claim
Plaintiff Delta Medical Systems, Inc. co-owned a trademark registration for NITREX for “medical gloves” with Delta Hospital Supply, Inc. and Delta Medical Supply Group, Inc. Delta Medical sued defendant DRE Health Corp. for trademark infringement. You may have seen this coming: DRE Health Corp. filed a motion to dismiss that the two other co-owners of… Continue reading
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You Have to Use a Mark to Own It
The main lesson here is be careful who you go into business with, or at least have an agreement that keeps them from backstabbing you. Defendant William Brady was the president of a company called Xponential, Inc. d/b/a EKR. EKR was a consulting firm that assisted startups with business strategy, marketing, creative services, and technology… Continue reading
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Can Only One Member of a Collective Abandon Their Share of a Mark?
There’s something that doesn’t seem right about this case, but then it’s a band case. Those are in their own trademark world. This one is about The Rascals. The original members of The Rascals (originally known as The Young Rascals), formed in 1965, were Felix Cavaliere, Gene Cornish, Eddie Brigati and Dino Danelli: (Dig the… Continue reading
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