• trademark

    Jus Tertii is Disfavored Except When It 100% Works

    by  • September 21, 2020 • trademark • 0 Comments

    This is a litigation strategist’s dream. I don’t think the outcome is right, but I will say it was really excellent lawyering. Plaintiff Business Moves Consulting, Inc. owns a trademark registration for: for a long list of clothing items. It sued Collegiate Licensing Company, LLC and others for trademark infringement.1 CLC is a licensing...

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    The Standing of an Exclusive Trademark Licensee (or not)

    by  • July 6, 2020 • right of publicity, trademark • 1 Comment

    July 7, 2020: Updated to add footnote 2. Section 32 of the Lanham Act is for infringement of registered trademarks. The section says that the liability for infringement is to the “registrant.” That category undisputedly includes a successor-in-interest, such as an assignee. A minority of courts have also held that “registrant” encompasses an exclusive...

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    Waiving Ownership of the Registration

    by  • February 10, 2020 • trademark • 0 Comments

    Do you need to own a trademark to succeed in an infringement claim? Not necessarily. The plaintiff, I&I Hair Corporation, now owns the registration for the trademark EZBRAID. Except that it originally didn’t; the registration was owned by Eunja Son, a principal of the plaintiff. I&I Hair sued the defendant, Beauty Plus Trading Co.,...

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    There’s The Episcopal Church and Then There Are Episcopal Churches

    by  • September 23, 2019 • trademark • 0 Comments

    In 2012, the South Carolina Diocese of The Episcopal Church declared that it disassociated from parent The Episcopal Church, a hierarchical church. The common understanding is that it was because of the ordination of gay clergy and acceptance of same-sex unions, although the disassociating diocese differs with that characterization. As a result there are...

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    Think of the Name

    by  • September 16, 2019 • right of publicity, trademark • 1 Comment

    In transactional work, don’t think just about what you’re getting, but also what you don’t want the target to do in the future. Three family members with the surname Traeger had a business in wood pellet grills. They sold the business to plaintiff Traeger Pellet Grills. At least one of the Traeger family later...

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    The Name Didn’t Stay With the Building

    by  • August 12, 2019 • trademark • 1 Comment

    Ownership of the trademark for a location-based business, like a restaurant, a theater, or a hotel, is always interesting. I don’t think there is any consistent outcome; it depends on the very specific facts of the given situation. Today’s installment is about a little bakery called The Long Grove Apple Haus. The original business...

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    Obligations versus Benefits

    by  • May 28, 2019 • copyright, trademark • 0 Comments

    Apparently someone is still interested in the Amiga operating system. In 2009, non-party Amiga, Inc. and defendant Hyperion Entertainment C.V.B.A. entered into a settlement agreement that resolved a number of lawsuits between them. The plaintiff, Cloanto Corp., was a licensee of Amiga at the time of the settlement agreement and mentioned in the agreement...

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