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Bratz Stayed!!
I consider myself the unofficial recordkeeper for the Bratz litigation (so it was fate that the Secret Santa I pulled was for a Moxie Girlz), but I must have been sleeping on the job because everyone has jumped on this one before me. So playing catch-up to what’s already been reported by the IPKat, Techdirt,… Continue reading
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The Missing Schedule
The Patent Prospector summarizes a decision from the Federal Circuit where the ownership of patents hinged on whether they were “related to” pending litigation at the time of an earlier intra-company assignment agreement. If the patents were related, they weren’t assigned and U.S. Surgical Corporation, not plaintiff Tyco Healthcare, remained the owner of the patents.… Continue reading
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Everyone Owns the Mark, So No One May Use It
Demonstrating rare insight into the fundamental principles of trademark law, the court in LunaTrex, LLC v. Cafasso granted both parties’ motions for preliminary injunction on the same issue, enjoining everyone from calling themselves “LunaTrex.” That’s not an inconsequential holding, since it means none of the parties may participate in the $30 million Google Lunar X… Continue reading
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Sohmer v. Sohmer
Ryan Giles at the Las Vegas Trademark Attorney blog tells the tale of two claimants to the piano brand “Sohmer.” It’s a law school exam, and I think Ryan gets an “A.” Read it here. © 2009 Pamela Chestek Continue reading
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A Very Short License
The Trademark Blog reports on a new case where two companies claim to own the same mark. In the complaint, the plaintiff and trademark registrant claims that it licensed the mark to the defendant but later terminated the license. The defendant’s website says that it acquired the business from the plaintiff. Here is the relevant… Continue reading
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Making Your Bed
The 7th Circuit decision in Sunstar, Inc. v. Alberto-Culver Co. is interesting in two ways: it provides some insight into how one company is managing the Japanese market, and also provides a little education on Japanese trademark licensing law. Alberto-Culver, owner of the VO5 family of marks, wasn’t having any success in the Japanese market,… Continue reading
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The Twenty Year Registration Is Dead*
No more twenty year registrations. *Well, except for the grace period. Docket six months. © 2009 Pamela Chestek Continue reading
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Copyright Infringement Masquarading as Ownership
The Tennessean, in an article entitled “‘Atomic Dog’ singer wins claim to phrase,” reports that “The phrase ‘bow wow wow, yippie yo, yippie yea’ belongs exclusively to funk legend George Clinton, a panel of federal judges ruled this week.” Well, no. The question was whether three musical elements – the use of the word “dog”… Continue reading
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The Coinco Strategy
Mars, Inc. v. Coin Acceptors, Inc., first blogged here, demonstrated what can go wrong with ownership of patents within a corporate enterprise. As a refresher, in Mars the defendant, “Coinco,” successfully attacked the chain of title of the patents in suit. Mars had transferred ownership of the patents between family members during the lawsuit, a… Continue reading
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The Restaurant Owns It, of Course
When the dispute over the ownership of the name of the famous restaurant “Tavern on the Green” started, I posted a poll asking whether the restaurant or New York City owned the name. The results are in, with responses overwhelmingly in favor of the restaurant, 93% to 6% (okay, well there were only 15 votes).… Continue reading