While I write about all the intellectual property disciplines, I have a soft spot for trademark ownership disputes. And I was, frankly, surprised by today’s case—it was not the outcome I expected when I first started reading. Tammy Goldthorpe filed an application for the mark SLIPPERY WIZARD for asphalt release agent. The application was...
Read more →Hold on, we’ve got a complicated one here. Save it for your “very long reading” queue. One trademark, three potential owners in the distribution chain with overlapping periods of time during which they claim ownership. The mark: “Smart Candle” (Smart Candles, SMARTCANDLE, SmartCandles, etc.) for electronic candles. The companies: Smartcandle.co.uk Limited (“SCK”) — non-party...
Read more →Nahshin v. Product Source International, LLC is a fairly routine manufacturer-distributor dispute with a twist — a middleman. It could have mucked things up a bit, but the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board handled it neatly. Israeli businessman and petitioner Leonid Nahshin adopted the mark NIC-OUT at least as early as January 1, 2002...
Read more →Haggar International Corp. v. United Company for Food Industry Corp. is a fairly classic manufacturer-distributor dispute. The conflict started over twenty years ago and the suit has been pending for nine years, which explains why the parties have widely differing recollection of relevant events. Hat’s off to the court for sorting out the mess....
Read more →International Importers v. International Spirits & Wines, LLC is, at bottom, a manufacturer-distributor dispute. It’s also a lesson in how not to handle trademark ownership. Fernbrew Pty. Ltd. Corp., an Australian company, is the owner of trademark registrations for WALLABY CREEK for wine in Australia, New Zealand, the EU, and Canada, but the U.S....
Read more →Registrant’s goods Cancellation action Paul Audio, Inc. v. Zhou is just one glimpse of what clearly is a much larger dispute. Baoning Zhou, an individual, is the owner of a registration for the mark C-MARK for audio equipment. Petitioner Paul Audio, Inc., owned by Li Gong, had also applied to register the C-MARK mark...
Read more →ZAO Gruppa Predpriyatij Ost v. Vosk International Co. is a very long decision with very little meat. Sixty-eight pages, of which the first 34 are evidentiary rulings suitable for the final exam for any evidence course. Applicant Vosk International Co. had an agreement with opposer and manufacturer ZAO Ost Aqua to import ZAO Ost...
Read more →There’s a presumption in manufacturer-distributor cases that the manufacturer owns the mark. Is the presumption deserved? What is fundamentally different between a manufacturer-distributor relationship and one where a company contracts for the manufacture of its product (an OEM relationship), when there isn’t the same presumption? Does it fall into one category or the other...
Read more →Sometimes things in your life intersect. I recently had the pleasure of attending “The TTAB Comes to Boston,” a day when the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board heads to Boston for the day. It was a fabulous event, a great case and a great panel. And then the first case that landed on my...
Read more →Tecnimed SRL v Kidz-Med, Inc. is a manufacturer-distributor dispute with a bit of a twist – the agreement was clear about who owned the trademark (the manufacturer), but it didn’t address who owned the trade dress for the product. Tecnimed is an Italian company that makes a non-contact thermometer for taking a child’s temperature. Kidz-Med...
Read more →Attorney Advertising. Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome.
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