licensee estoppel
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Licenses, Consents or Assignments?
Lawn Managers, Inc. v. Progressive Lawn Managers, Inc. is about a trademark and a divorce, a case we’ve visited before. Where we last left it, the federal court was abstaining to allow the parties to figure things out in family court. As it turns out that order was vacated; on reconsideration the court concluded that… Continue reading
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What the Paperwork Says
Here’s an utterly confusing situation, which I suppose is why there has been an arbitration, two lawsuits, and an appeal to the 9th Circuit with an unpublished decision. People, get the paperwork right. The situation involves Camelot Hair Care Products LLC, a woman named Nina Parkinson, and Robanda International Inc. A person named Tony Parkinson… Continue reading
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You Need a No-Contest Clause in Your Copyright Licenses
I recently wrote about a number of cases brought by photography agencies against Pearson Education, alleging that it exceeded the scope of copyright licenses. This led me to ponder the application of the licensee estoppel defense in copyright. Licensee estoppel prohibits a licensee from challenging the validity of the rights licensed. Patents have a clear… Continue reading
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No Do-Overs
Scanner Technologies Corp., the defendant in the declaratory judgment action, was the owner of 13 patents in the same family. There were multiple suits between it and declaratory judgment plaintiff ICOS Vision Systems, Inc. over “ball grid inspection devices,” which inspect the electrical connections between a microchip and circuit board. In 2008, ICOS filed a… Continue reading
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“Hustler is Larry Flynt, You Know”
The Flynt family, of HUSTLER fame, has been embroiled for years in several lawsuits over the ownership of the business and use of the HUSTLER mark. As you might expect for a business based on pornography, the corporate form was ever-changinga “morass” as described by the court—as the family tried to limit its liability, and… Continue reading
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An Embarassment of Ownership Issues
Opposed mark TTAB decision Restifo v. Power Beverages, LLC has, count ’em, seven different trademark ownership theories discussed in it. My kind of case. In 2006 opposer Restifo and trademark applicant Kidd first discussed a business arrangement for making YING YANG VODKA. Kidd described his method of doing business this way: [a]s an alcohol beverage,… Continue reading
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Screwed, But Not a Federal Problem
There’s a tale here. Unfortunately for plaintiff, not enough to make a federal case. The plaintiff, G & F Licensing Corporation (GFLC), claims to be a successor company to the Gordon & Ferguson Company, the original owner of the mark FIELD & STREAM for apparel. The current record owner is Field & Stream Licenses Co.,… Continue reading
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These Economic Times
In catching up on my reading over the holidays, I ran across three separate opinions where the licensee estoppel defense was raised (score: trademark owner 2, licensee 1). I don’t recall the last time I read another opinion on licensee estoppel. Is it a sign of these economic times? Are licensors looking for more income?… Continue reading
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