trademark
-
It Seemed Like a Good Idea at the Time
Popeye vs. Popeyes: the owner of Popeyes “quick service” restaurants, AFC Enterprises, Inc., has filed a Complaint for Declaratory Judgment asking the court to declare that it, not the Hearst Corporation, owner of the Popeye cartoon character, is the owner of the trademark POPEYES for restaurant services. The dispute exists because AFC Enterprises originally licensed… Continue reading
-
Litigation Strategy
Here’s a TTAB case that I think presents an interesting procedural question. The situation: Bello Fitness Ltda, petitioner, is a Brazilian clothing manufacturer. It owns the BODY UP mark in Brazil and had a relationship with non-party Body Up, LLC to distribute the BODY UP clothing in the U.S. Fernando Homem da Costa Filho was… Continue reading
-
“Hustler is Larry Flynt, You Know”
The Flynt family, of HUSTLER fame, has been embroiled for years in several lawsuits over the ownership of the business and use of the HUSTLER mark. As you might expect for a business based on pornography, the corporate form was ever-changinga “morass” as described by the court—as the family tried to limit its liability, and… Continue reading
-
How Damaging To Your Case is a Cancelled Trademark Registration?
I ran across a point about enforceability of a trademark that I don’t recall seeing before, which is that a trademark for which the registration was procured by fraud is unenforceable. The point is made in Firehouse Restaurant Group, Inc. v. Scurmont LLC, a case in which a jury held, and the court affirmed, that… Continue reading
-
Championship Cabbage Chucking
There is only one World Championship Cabbage Chuck (flash and sound warning). It’s hosted by St. Denis Parish in Shiocton, Wisconsin: The question, as one might expect on this blog, is who owns the trademark? The first narrator of the video is registrant Diana Van Straten, who obtained a registration on the Supplemental Register for… Continue reading
-
An Assignment that Works Like a License
You’ll recall that there was a dispute over the ownership of the name of the famous Central Park restaurant “Tavern on the Green.” The restaurant owner owned two registrations for “Tavern on the Green” marks, one for restaurant services (the “Restaurant Mark” and “Restaurant Registration”) and one for oils and dressings (the “Oil and Dressing… Continue reading
-
An Embarassment of Ownership Issues
Opposed mark TTAB decision Restifo v. Power Beverages, LLC has, count ’em, seven different trademark ownership theories discussed in it. My kind of case. In 2006 opposer Restifo and trademark applicant Kidd first discussed a business arrangement for making YING YANG VODKA. Kidd described his method of doing business this way: [a]s an alcohol beverage,… Continue reading
-
The STOLICHNAYA Case Ends Again
In 2004 plaintiff Federal Treasury Enterprise Sojuzplodoimport (FTE) challenged defendant Spirit International B.V.’s (“SPI”) claim of ownership of the various STOLICHNAYA trademarks. In 2006 the district court dismissed almost all claims on a motion to dismiss, holding that the incontestable status of SPI’s registration meant that FTE couldn’t challenge ownership. In 2010 the Court of… Continue reading
-
WYHA (Would You Have Abandoned)?*
ZAO Gruppa Predpriyatij Ost v. Vosk International Co. is a very long decision with very little meat. Sixty-eight pages, of which the first 34 are evidentiary rulings suitable for the final exam for any evidence course. Applicant Vosk International Co. had an agreement with opposer and manufacturer ZAO Ost Aqua to import ZAO Ost Aqua’s… Continue reading
About Me
Learn more about me at my website, Chestek Legal
Recent Posts
Categories
- copyright
- domain name
- moral rights
- patent
- right of publicity
- social media
- trade dress
- trade libel
- trade secret
- trademark
- Uncategorized