trademark
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Why You Always Bring a Claim Under § 43(a)
For starters, so you have standing. Particularly if your assignment record is a hot mess. There are two statutory bases for trademark infringement, § 32 (15 U.S.C. § 1114) for infringement of registered marks and § 43(a) (15 U.S.C. § 1125(a)), a broader provision that can also encompass trademark infringement. Section 32 provides a cause… Continue reading
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“I Didn’t Mention It Was Just a License?”
Defendant Smith used the mark “Suncrest” for his hair replacement business “Best Hair Replacement Manufacturers, Inc.” (“BHRM”). Wendy Wan owned First Fashion Hong Kong, a wholesale supplier of hair replacement products. Smith was a customer and a friend of Wan. Smith’s business was going under, so he, Wan, and a third person, Friendy, started a… Continue reading
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“Lizzie Borden B&B wins trademark patent”
Yes, that’s the unfortunate headline of the article in the The Herald News, “News of the Southcoast.” The Fall River, Massachusetts “Lizzie Borden Bed and Breakfast/Museum” sued the Salem, Massachusetts “True Story of Lizzie Borden Gift Shop and Museum” and they settled (previously blogged here and here). The Fall River business now has a federal… Continue reading
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Three Chocolate Companies Run Three Different Ways
If you’re interested in trademark management in large enterprises, or management of large enterprises in general, there’s an interesting decision in a multidistrict antitrust case against the chocolate candy industry. The opinion discusses whether the court has personal jurisdiction over some of the foreign family members of Cadbury, Mars and Nestlé. The case also provides… Continue reading
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Do Ethnic Slurs Mean a New Trial?
The National Law Journal is reporting (free subscription required) that four organizations – the Anti-Defamation League, the Public Affairs Alliance of Iranian Americans, the Iranian Americans Jewish Federation and the Iranian American Bar Association – filed an amicus brief in the Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit, asking the court to grant a new… Continue reading
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Stitch in Time
Changes of ownership of intellectual property rights are sometimes done in a series of transactions all executed at generally the same time. For example, when acquiring assets, they might first be assigned to an acquisition company, the acquisition company merged into the purchaser, the seller dissolved, and the purchasing company’s name changed to the name… Continue reading
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Seizing Cuban Trademarks
The IPKat reports on an effort in a Florida court to seize trademarks owned by the Cuban government in order to satisfy a judgment against it. The Miami Herald does a great job of explaining a complicated situation. I can’t improve on it, other than to provide a search query if you’re interested in seeing… Continue reading
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Mongols Can Wear Their Colors
An anonymous commenter to a previous blog post provided a link to today’s opinion finding that the government seizure of the Mongols trademark in United States v. Cavazos was not proper under the RICO statute. You may recall it was widely reported back in October, 2008 that the government had seized the registered trademark of… Continue reading
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The Elephant in the Dark
Knight’s Armament Company and Optical Systems Technology, Inc. (OSTI) collaborated on the production of “clip-on in-line night vision devices” (CNVD), night scopes for use in low light conditions to be placed on a rifle immediately in front of the regular scope. Knight’s Armament contracted to provide the scopes, which were manufactured by OSTI. The contracts… Continue reading
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It Wasn’t the Royal “We”
Third Education Group, Inc. v. Phelps is a short, clean, decision on trademark ownership. Richard Phelps wanted to create a web-based journal and asked Thompson to join him in the endeavor. Phelps thought of the name “Third Education Group” and registered the trademark in his own name. The parties had a falling out and ownership… Continue reading
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