trademark
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Whoops, the State Owns the Mark
Florida VirtualSchool is an agency of the State of Florida. The enabling statute for the school says this: The board of trustees … may acquire, enjoy, use and dispose of patents, copyrights, and trademarks and any licenses and other rights or interests thereunder or therein. Ownership of all such patents, copyrights, trademarks, licenses, and rights… Continue reading
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7th Circuit Closes Trademark Loophole in Bankruptcies
Bankruptcy law has a quirky little thing going on with trademarks. But let’s back up a little and put some context to it. Under Bankruptcy Code § 365(a), the trustee for a company in bankruptcy has the option of rejecting or assuming executory contracts or unexpired leases. This is a fundamental need for a company… Continue reading
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Why Trademark Lawyers Should Work M&A
It’s common in many industries for a company to be named after its partners. The names both individually and as part of the firm name develop goodwill, which makes it a challenge when an individual departs – how do you divvy it up? Not how it was done in Basile Baumann Prost Cole & Assocs.,… Continue reading
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1.65% of 33% Ownership
Marques Class 46 Blog reports on a decision out of Poland that I struggle with conceptually. There were three joint owners of the trademark SILMENT. One of the joint owners assigned 1.65% of his 33% ownership to his son. This is where I’m struggling. What does an approximate 1/2% ownership interest in a trademark actually… Continue reading
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Two Companies Making Pianos, One Mark
Digging into an interesting decision about the duty to defend an insurance claim turns out to be a long tale about a zombie mark, with strategic moves in prosecution, before the TTAB, and in federal court. It’s still going, but as far as I can tell all that should be left to decide is damages. … Continue reading
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Way Too Many Co-owners
International Importers v. International Spirits & Wines, LLC is, at bottom, a manufacturer-distributor dispute. It’s also a lesson in how not to handle trademark ownership. Fernbrew Pty. Ltd. Corp., an Australian company, is the owner of trademark registrations for WALLABY CREEK for wine in Australia, New Zealand, the EU, and Canada, but the U.S. trademark… Continue reading
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Salba United
I previously blogged about a case, Salba Corp. v. Ralston, where there were two different owners of SALBA-formative marks. Salba Corp. owned the trademark SALBA (a varietal of chia seed) and the Ralstons then assigned their SALBASMART and SALBA BALANCE marks to Salba Corp. with a license back and a reversion if Salba Corp. breached… Continue reading
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Trademark Troll Extraordinaire
We occasionally hear about trademark trolling, but Premier Pool Management Corp. v. Lusk takes it to a whole new level. Plaintiff Premier Pool Management Corp. (“PPMC”) offers swimming pool and spa construction services through licensees doing business as Premier Pool & Spas. It first used the PREMIER POOL & SPAS mark in 1989 and was using it in interstate… Continue reading
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Be Careful What You Wish For
In the past I reported on a dispute between Pinnacle Pizza, franchisee, and Little Caesar Enterprises (LCE), franchisor of Little Caesars pizza shops. Pinnacle Pizza invented the tagline “Hot ‘N Ready” for a particular promotional program, which was then adopted by the franchise chain. Pinnacle Pizza sued LCE, claiming that it, not LCE, owned the… Continue reading
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