Property, intangible

Here’s a case caption that gives you pause:  “Hard Rock Cafe International (USA), Inc. v. Hard Rock Hotel Holdings, LLC et al.”  Ryan Gile at the Las Vegas Trademark Attorney has done the heavy lifting on figuring out who sued whom and why.  It’s a license relationship gone sour: the original trademark owner sold the… Continue reading

I previously blogged about a dispute between Bodum USA and La Cafetière over the sale of French press coffeemakers. Corporate entity Bodum bought out one of the shareholders, Martin.  The purchase agreement included future restraints on Martin’s use of the conveyed trademarks and, it argued, on the trade dress in the pot configuration itself.  Martin… Continue reading

Petitioners, circa 1988 John Welch at the TTABlog added a new category, “Would You Have Petitioned?” In the case of Augustine’s Spiritual Goods, Inc. v. Augustine’s Eternal Gifts, LLC, maybe I would have. The decision as argued and decided was a no-brainer, but it looks like there’s a disconnect between the case that was argued… Continue reading

Thanks to Bill Bryner at Kilpatrick Stockton for a report on a recent 4th Circuit decision.  It’s about copyright and furniture, which leads to discussion of some of the more unusual intellectual property legal theories. I’m interested in the challenge to ownership of the copyright in the furniture designs. In 1994, a predecessor company, Universal… Continue reading

ZDNet reports that there will be a new “Commodore 64” computer. It’s being described in a press release (scroll to August 25, 2010 entry) as an updated computer in “an exact replica of the original beige chassis Commodore C64.” Original Commodore 64.  Photo: Bill Bertram (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User:Pixel8).Photo licensed under CC-BY-SA But hat tip to whoever had… Continue reading

Ok, so the only reason I’m blogging about this case is so I can show the logo for Orange County Choppers (OCC), of “American Choppers” fame.  As logos go, it’s one of the best ones out there. Which may explain why there’s a lawsuit revolving around OCC merchandise.  It all started in 2003, when OCC… Continue reading

Wow.  Ryan Gile at the Las Vegas Trademark Attorney has written a 3,700 word tome, with diagrams, on the convoluted and complicated (an understatement) ownership interest in the trademark “Tropicana” for hotels. I can’t begin to imagine how long it took to write it, much less understand all the transactions before being able to write… Continue reading

John Welch at the TTABlog asks, would you have opposed? It’s another case where a claim of fraud was premised on the theory that the applicant wasn’t the owner of the mark. The applicant Galaxy Metal Gear, Inc. Direct Access Technology, Inc. (DAT) applied for METAL GEAR for hard drive enclosures.  It had them manufactured… Continue reading

Ashley Gasper has several hats.  He is an adult film star using the stage name Jules Jordan. (Not what you think, it’s a USPTO link.  Click away.)   He is the president and sole shareholder of Jules Jordan Video, Inc. (innocent too – Wikipedia), the creator of the videos in which Gasper stars.  He produces,… Continue reading

Photo by Julian Walker, licensed as CC-BY-ND Robinson v HSBC Bank USA is a case I characterize as a harm in search of a legal theory.  You have some sympathy for the plaintiffs, but not every wrong suffered gets you legal relief. Plaintiff Douglass Robinson owns a much-photographed house in the Haight neighborhood of San… Continue reading