• Posts Tagged ‘bankruptcy’

    You Need to Schedule Worthless Trademarks

    by  • January 20, 2014 • trademark • 0 Comments

    Thanco Products and Imports, Inc. v. Kontos is a case that intrigues me. It’s an adversarial proceeding in a bankruptcy, not having to do with who owns the trademarks exactly, but what happens when one lies about it. In 2006 and 2007 Debtor George Kontos filed six trademark applications that ultimately registered, for GREEK...

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    Assigning the “Goodwill”

    by  • October 14, 2012 • trademark • 0 Comments

    There are several meanings to the word “goodwill,” depending on the context. This ambiguity was the basis for Axiom Worldwide, Inc. v. HTRD Group Hong Kong Ltd. The plaintiff Axiom Worldwide, Inc. (Axiom Inc.) registered trademarks, obtained authorizations from the Food and Drug Administration, and “created its own intellectual property” (those are the court’s...

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    Eighth Circuit Screws Bread Company

    by  • September 3, 2012 • trademark

    I previously reported on a bankruptcy involving the BUTTERNUT trademark for breads.  In 1996, in order to avoid antitrust concerns created by its acquisition of another bread company, Interstate Bakeries Corporation (IBC) sold assets and granted a trademark license for its BUTTERNUT and SUNBEAM marks to Lewis Brothers Bakeries (LBB). The trademark license was...

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    An Assignment that Works Like a License

    by  • October 17, 2011 • trademark

    You’ll recall that there was a dispute over the ownership of the name of the famous Central Park restaurant “Tavern on the Green.”  The restaurant owner owned two registrations for “Tavern on the Green” marks, one for restaurant services (the “Restaurant Mark” and “Restaurant Registration”) and one for oils and dressings (the “Oil and...

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    Trick Question

    by  • July 31, 2011 • trademark

    A debtor-in-possession had a contract it wanted to assign. The contract included a trademark license, but it was somewhat unusual in structure. For starters, it was a trademark sublicense, not a direct license, for the mark “Jag Jeans”: There is no registered trademark for “Jag Jeans,” although there are several for “Jag” owned by...

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    Sibling Rivalry

    by  • June 25, 2011 • trademark

    I have sympathy for small businesses. Just working stiffs, plumbers for example, trying make a living day to day. You have to watch the pennies, you’ve got equipment costs, rent and salaries and rising health insurance costs and there’s only so much the market will bear.  Trademarks are going to be really low on...

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    Rejected Trademark License

    by  • June 4, 2011 • trademark

    Photo by doortoriver Borders Group had contracted with Seattle’s Best, an acquisition/ subsidiary of Starbucks, for in-store coffee shops.  In February, 2011 Borders filed for bankruptcy under Chapter 11 and filed a motion to reject the Seattle’s Best license, claiming it will save $10 million a year operating the stores independently. Seattle’s Best objected,...

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