manufacturer
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Which Distributor Owns the Mark?
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 UK… Continue reading
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You Need to Ask Who Is Making the Product
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 outside… Continue reading
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Wrist-Rocket Factors Applied
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. The… Continue reading
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Way Too Many Co-owners
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. trademark… Continue reading
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Just Another Skirmish or the War?
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 for… Continue reading
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WYHA (Would You Have Abandoned)?*
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 Aqua’s… Continue reading
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When Are You a “Distributor”?
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 just… Continue reading
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Brother versus Sister
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 desktop… Continue reading
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Don’t Forget Trade Dress In Your Manufacturing Agreements
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 was… Continue reading
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Unremarkable Manufacturer-Distributor Dispute
Wincam America, Inc., a distributor for CD Lab AG Multimedia Systems, filed applications to register the WINCAM and WINCAM AMERICA trademarks in the U.S. CD Lab, the foreign owner of the WINCAM mark, was unhappy. Wincam America set out the possible scenarios: (1) withdraw the applications, (2) CD Lab register the marks and Wincam America… Continue reading
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