trademark
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ConsumerInfo Owns the Mark
Consumerinfo.com, Inc. v. Money Management Intl, Inc. is a short opinion with two of the rarer trademark ownership issues – whether the registrant is the true owner of the mark, and the quantum of use necessary to establish a date of first use of a mark. Unfortunately, the decision doesn’t contribute a lot to the… Continue reading
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Patsy’s Restaurant Wars
The never-ending saga of competing “Patsy’s” restaurants in New York simmers on. I count 13 decisions in the Westlaw database from at least three separate suits, plus there have been four petitions to cancel filed at the PTO. The latest decision, resolving all outstanding issues between the parties at the trial court level, starts this… Continue reading
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“Museum Agrees to Ax Lizzie Borden Name”
Not my headline, this newspaper’s. Defendant True Story of Lizzie Borden Gift Shop and Museum, sued over the use of “Lizzie Borden” by plaintiff Lizzie Borden Bed and Breadkfast (case previously blogged here), will change its name. The museum can mention Lizzie Borden in a tagline and can phase out sales of promotional goods. More news reporting here. The… Continue reading
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Mattel Moves for Everything
A little behind in my reporting on the Bratz case. New reports are that Mattel filed a motion for a permanent injunction to enjoin MGA from making and selling Bratz dolls and from using the Bratz name and trademarks. There are a slew of motions. First for declaratory judgment: [T]he Court should now issue a declaratory judgment pursuant… Continue reading
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No Trademark Law at All
I think one of the reasons I like trademarks so much is their split personality. On one hand, they are the most ephemeral of intangible property, only a symbol representing a collective ethos. On the other hand, they can be the subject of the most ordinary transactions, buying and selling, securing a loan. A non-precedential… Continue reading
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I Vote for “Belief”
It’s off topic, but I am from Massachusetts, it is the Red Sox, and it’s almost the playoffs. The TTABlog reports that a mark was refused registration on the basis that, inter alia, it disparaged the Red Sox. If disparagement must be of “persons, living or dead, institutions, beliefs, or national symbols,” which is the Red… Continue reading
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Licensing, Naked or Clothed
In the Moose Tracks ice cream post, I mentioned that it didn’t look like a naked license situation because Denali was doing everything necessary to defeat a claim of naked licensing. Nevertheless, there was some suggestion in the survey that consumers didn’t associate the “Moose Tracks” flavor with any particular source, i.e., that they thought… Continue reading
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Barking up the Wrong Tree
I wrote an article proposing an analytical framework for resolution of disputes where two parties claim to own the same trademark, using settled law on the manufacturer-distributor relationship as a starting point. The situation comes up fairly often and in this case the tip off is early – “This dispute stems from the shifting business relationship” between… Continue reading
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And the Survey Says —
I had a great response to my survey; my thanks to everyone who participated and to those who drove traffic to the survey, particularly Marty at The Trademark Blog and John at The TTABlog. Here’s a link to the original post and here’s a pdf version of the blank survey questions, in case you missed… Continue reading
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There’s Only One Mustang Ranch
The Seattle Trademark Lawyer reports on a 9th Circuit decision affirming ownership of the mark MUSTANG RANCH. It’s a long saga, where the government seized the ranch and all its property then stumbled around for years trying to figure out what to do with it. David and Ingrid Burgess then adopted the mark and later… Continue reading
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