trademark
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Questionable Decision on Assigning an ITU
I recently wrote about a case which held that, while there was an assignment of an invention, a continuation-in-part application was not assigned because it had new matter. I’m not sure if the outcome was right; at least I suspect that many drafters of assignment language haven’t thought about it that way. The same decision… Continue reading
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Another Band Name Ownership Decision
Ok, I’m very confused by the decision in the TTAB case O.T.H. Enterprises, Inc. v. Vasquez. What’s confusing is that the Board discusses, in two separate parts of the decision, ownership of the mark and priority. I don’t really get that – if the case is about who owns the mark, what other mark is… Continue reading
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Assigning the “Goodwill”
There are several meanings to the word “goodwill,” depending on the context. This ambiguity was the basis for Axiom Worldwide, Inc. v. HTRD Group Hong Kong Ltd. The plaintiff Axiom Worldwide, Inc. (Axiom Inc.) registered trademarks, obtained authorizations from the Food and Drug Administration, and “created its own intellectual property” (those are the court’s words,… Continue reading
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The Piano Mark Was Apparently Not Abandoned
I previously told the story of what I characterized as a zombie piano trademark for SOHMER. The long version is here and the short version is that an owner of the mark, Burgett, Inc., had a period of non-use during which time it allowed the registrations to lapse; upon discovering the lapse another piano manufacturer,… Continue reading
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Lack of Control as a Shield
You are undoubtedly familiar with the concept that the lack of control over the quality of the goods and services with which a mark is used can mean that the trademark is abandoned (recursive link alert) by the trademark owner. But in East West, LLC v. Rahman, the lack of control was instead used to… Continue reading
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Know When to Fold ‘Em
I’ve previously reported on a case brought by Wayne Gray challenging the ownership of the UNIX trademark. Gray was trying to register the mark “iNUX” but his application was refused as likely to be confused with UNIX. He went on the attack in court, claiming that an assignment from Novell to defendant X/Open wasn’t effective. He lost… Continue reading
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Eighth Circuit Screws Bread Company
I previously reported on a bankruptcy involving the BUTTERNUT trademark for breads. In 1996, in order to avoid antitrust concerns created by its acquisition of another bread company, Interstate Bakeries Corporation (IBC) sold assets and granted a trademark license for its BUTTERNUT and SUNBEAM marks to Lewis Brothers Bakeries (LBB). The trademark license was only… Continue reading
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Be Careful When You Threaten
Photo from Grand Rapid Press Here’s one to wrap your head around, courtesy of the IPKat. Cedar Springs, Michigan has heretofore been the “Red Flannel Town,” as evidenced by the sign to the left. The logo was used by the town on city vehicles, the cemetery, its letterhead, and in its town seal. The story*… Continue reading
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WITTMANN PATCH v. STAR PATCH
I reported in the past about a dispute over the WITTMANN PATCH mark for a surgical device invented by Mark Wittmann. The case arose out of a business relationship that went bad. The court held on a preliminary injunction that plaintiff Starsurgical owned the WITTMANN PATCH mark and that Wittmann had to cease using it.… Continue reading
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