trademark
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Who Owns “Black Sabbath”?
The Las Vegas Trademark Attorney gives us the jot and tittle of a dispute between Ozzy Osbourne and Anthony Iommi over the ownership of the BLACK SABBATH name. An interesting twist beyond the usual band name story, because Ozzy assigned the name to Iommi in 1980. What does it take to recapture ownership of a… Continue reading
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“KILL BRATZ”
It’s still hot and heavy in the Bratz litigation. There are these enticing entries on the district court docket: 05/18/2009 5510 PHASE 2 DISCOVERY MATTER – ORDER NO. 34 filed by Special Master Robert C O’Brien Regarding Motion to Compel Production of Hard Drives from Computers Used by Isaac Larian after February 27, 2008 (O’Brien,… Continue reading
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Shades of Spam Arrest
Here’s an interesting story on the derivation of the word “tabloid” for a newspaper. It’s a trademark registered in the United Kingdom in 1884 for compressed medicines, a portmanteau of “tablet” and “ovoid.” The use of the mark was later expanded to tea, first aid kits, snake bite kits, photographic chemicals, and other goods. Burroughs… Continue reading
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It’s Only One Mark
Sometimes the TTAB is an alternative reality. It’s happening right now as it struggles with trademark ownership disputes. In Arturo Santana Gallego v. Santana’s Grill, Inc., there was family falling out. The TTAB reached a conclusion that may be right, but in a way that is so doctrinally irrelevant that we can’t know. The cast… Continue reading
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MGA Smackdown
MGA Entertainment has asked for, and was granted, an expedited hearing for a stay of the injunction pending its appeal to the Ninth Circuit. The hearing will be May 18. In expected fashion, MGA couldn’t pass up an opportunity for a smackdown in its press release: Mattel’s iteration of the brand will necessarily bear little… Continue reading
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Well, It Was Probably Assigned
The TTABlog reports on a case about the mark RUSSKAYA for vodka that addresses two different attacks on trademark ownership. One is a fairly standard charge of abandonment. The second is a standing attack, based on a claim that the intent to use trademark application was improperly assigned. Under Section 10(a)(1) of the Lanham Act,… Continue reading
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Mattel $100 Million Richer, For Now
Yesterday the Bratz court dealt with a boatload of motions, most importantly MGA Entertainment’s motion for remittitur of the $100 million verdict. MGA Entertainment claimed that the $100 verdict was duplicative, and that the jury really meant that the verdict should be $20 million. The MGA parties argue that Mattel had a singular theory of… Continue reading
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Pressing Onward
Sometimes assigning the trademark isn’t enough. In the 1950’s, Société des Anciens Etablissements Martin S.A. (“Martin”) owned the design patents for and distributed the “Chambord” and “Melior” French press coffeemakers. In 1983, Viel Castel, a majority shareholder of Martin, and Jrgen Jepsen Bodum established Bodum, Inc. (“Bodum”). Bodum had the distribution rights to the Chambord… Continue reading
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Laid to Waste
The always informative John Welch, TTABlog reporter, blogged on a pure trademark ownership contest at the TTAB in an opposition proceeding. It was a bit of a lengthy and confusing read, 41 pages, although the TTAB does bless us with generous double-spacing and Courier New. The case is a lesson in how not to manage… Continue reading
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Faithless Servant Indeed
Asociación de Industriales de Puerto Rico v. MarketNext, Inc. is a classic trademark ownership dispute. The plaintiff, Asociación de Industriales de Puerto Rico (AIPR), also known as the Puerto Rico Manufacturer’s Association, is a trade association representing businesses in the manufacturing and service sectors in Puerto Rico. It was commonly referred to as “los Industriales”… Continue reading
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