Mealey's Trademarks
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November 03, 2023
High Court Wants Furniture Maker’s Response In Trade Dress Secondary Meaning Spat
WASHINGTON, D.C. — A high-end furniture designer, which prevailed in its trade dress infringement lawsuit against a competitor, has been asked by the U.S. Supreme Court to file a response to the competitor‘s petition for certiorari on the topic of when intentional copying constitutes evidence of secondary meaning and a finding of infringement.
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November 03, 2023
Dunkin’ Donuts Settles Infringement Suit Against ‘Vapin’ Donuts’ E-Cig Company
BROOKLYN, N.Y. — The parent company of the Dunkin’ Donuts chain and an affiliated company filed in New York federal court a joint notice of settlement of claims against an e-cigarette company and its CEO for trademark infringement by using a logo “nearly identical” to that of Dunkin’ Donuts to boost sales of their “Vapin’ Donuts” e-cigarette products.
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November 01, 2023
High Court Holds Oral Arguments In ‘Trump Too Small’ Trademark Row
WASHINGTON, D.C. — In oral arguments before the U.S. Supreme Court on Nov. 1, counsel for the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (PTO) defended a provision in federal trademark law that bars registrations that incorporate the names of certain public figures.
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November 01, 2023
Panel Orders Transfer Of False Advertising, Copyright Claims Against TikTok
NEW ORLEANS — The Fifth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals on Oct. 31 granted a petition for writ of mandamus by TikTok Inc. and others, agreeing that allegations that the popular video sharing app engages in false advertising and copyright infringement should proceed in California federal court.
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October 26, 2023
California Federal Judge Allows Expert In Trademark Dispute Over Shades Of Blue
SAN FRANCISCO — A California federal judge found that a “color consultant” expert can testify in a dispute over a trademark but ruled that she cannot opine on a likelihood of confusion between the two products.
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October 24, 2023
Video Game Companies Argue Whether Supreme Court Ruling Affects ‘Warzone’ Mark Row
PASADENA, Calif. — In supplemental briefs filed at the behest of the Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals, two video game companies dispute whether the recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling in Jack Daniel’s Properties Inc. v. VIP Products LLC has any impact on the present reverse confusion trademark dispute pertaining to the “Warzone” mark used by both companies.
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October 24, 2023
Rebuttal Witness To Survey Results Ruled Admissible In Trademark Dispute
SOUTH BEND, Ind. — Forest River Inc., a manufacturer of recreational vehicles, lost its bid to exclude an expert witness retained to rebut conclusions reached by its expert who conducted a consumer survey when an Indiana federal judge found that the expert’s opinions are admissible in the trademark infringement dispute.
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October 24, 2023
Motion To Strike Jury Demand In Trademark Row Denied In Pennsylvania
PHILADELPHIA — A federal judge in Pennsylvania on Oct. 23 addressed the “thorny” question of whether a request for an accounting of profits in connection with allegations of trademark infringement and counterfeiting is strictly equitable, but ultimately found that he need not definitively answer because “many” other claims in the case are legal in nature.
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October 23, 2023
Cancellation Of ‘Captain Cannabis’ Trademark Upheld On Appeal
WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Trademark Trial and Appeal Board’s determination that a pro se petitioner has priority of use of the “Captain Cannabis” trademark in connection with comic books was affirmed by the Federal Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals.
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October 20, 2023
Panel: No Irreparable Harm If Relief Denied In Trademark Dispute
NEW YORK — A March order by a federal judge in Connecticut that denied a request by two trademark infringement counterclaimants for a preliminary injunction in their row with former sublicensees will stand, the Second Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals ruled Oct. 19.
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October 19, 2023
Board Exceeded Authority When Canceling Mark, Divided Panel Concludes
WASHINGTON, D.C. — A panel majority of the Federal Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals on Oct. 18 reversed and remanded cancellation of the “DANTANNA’S” trademark by the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board, clarifying that the board’s authority to take such action is limited to instances of fraud that occur during registration.
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October 19, 2023
On Eve Of Trademark Trial, New Damages Theory By Ford Fails
DETROIT — An “11th hour” bid by Ford Motor Co. for damages under an unjust enrichment theory in a trademark infringement and trade secret misappropriation dispute with a former business associate failed in Michigan federal court.
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October 18, 2023
Michigan Federal Judge Won’t Stay Relief Curtailing Use Of ‘Libertarian Party’
DETROIT — Writing that various defendants are “free to identify as Libertarians and voice their political opinions but may not engage in trademark infringement,” a federal judge in Michigan denied a request to stay a preliminary injunction she entered in August while the defendants challenge the relief before the Sixth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals.
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October 18, 2023
New York Federal Judge: Injunction Not Warranted In ‘Jolene’ Trademark Row
NEW YORK — In a dispute between two New York City establishments over the “Jolene” common-law trademark, a federal judge in New York on Oct. 17 denied a request for a preliminary injunction.
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October 16, 2023
Supreme Court Grants Certiorari In 2nd Challenge To Chevron Deference
WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. Supreme Court on Oct. 13 granted a petition for a writ of certiorari in a second case challenging the doctrine of Chevron deference and ordered that it be briefed on a schedule allowing argument “in tandem” with a pending case pertaining to the same issue, both of which involve challenges to regulations that require fishing vessels to pay federal monitors.
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October 16, 2023
High Court Denies Petition Against Sony Over Trademark Rights In Celebrity Personas
WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. Supreme Court denied a petition for certiorari in which the executor of a deceased actor’s estate asks the U.S. Supreme Court to find that a celebrity owns trademark rights in his or her persona under the Lanham Act, as part of a lawsuit for violation of California’s unfair competition law (UCL) against Sony Pictures Entertainment Inc. based on usage of the actor’s persona in a Quentin Tarantino film.
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October 06, 2023
Counterclaim Over Ad Statements Dismissed In Trademark Litigation
DETROIT — A dispute between competitors in the energy drink industry will proceed without a counterclaim for false advertising, a federal judge in Michigan ruled.
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October 03, 2023
Panel Affirms Lawsuit Over Defense, Enforcement Of Trademark Was Untimely
NEW ORLEANS — An action under Louisiana common law stemming from efforts to defend and enforce previously registered trade dress was filed “simply too late,” a panel of the Fifth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals affirmed.
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October 03, 2023
Certiorari Bid Denied In Dispute Over Challenge To Trademark Validity
WASHINGTON, D.C. — A California credit union on Oct. 2 failed to persuade the U.S. Supreme Court to review a decision by the Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals that found that a declaratory trademark invalidity claim was mooted by a grant of summary judgment in favor of a party accused of trademark infringement.
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September 29, 2023
Dunkin’ Donuts Files Infringement Action Against E-Cig Company For ‘Vapin’ Logo
BROOKLYN, N.Y. — The parent company of the Dunkin’ Donuts chain and an affiliated company are suing an e-cigarette company and its CEO in New York federal court for trademark infringement, alleging that the defendants are illegally using a Dunkin’ Donuts-style logo design to boost sales of their “Vapin’ Donuts” e-cigarette products.
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September 29, 2023
Sony Waives Response To Petition Over Trademark Rights In Celebrity Personas
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Sony Pictures Entertainment Inc. opted against responding to a petition for certiorari in which the executor of a deceased actor’s estate asks the U.S. Supreme Court to find that a celebrity owns trademark rights in his or her persona under the Lanham Act.
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September 25, 2023
AI Company: Health Care Startup Stole Sci-Fi-Based Trademark
NEW YORK — A startup health care company that uses artificial intelligence to tailor treatments skipped the hard part of earning its own reputation and instead simply stole an existing and completely unique name and established trademark in an effort to confuse consumers, an artificial intelligence technology company tells a New York federal court.
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September 22, 2023
Trademark Infringement Dispute Between Clothing Boutiques Is Reinstated
CINCINNATI — A divided panel of the Sixth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals on Sept. 21 said a federal judge in Kentucky wrongly dismissed allegations of trademark infringement leveled by a boutique children’s clothing designer but rightly ruled in favor of a defendant with regard to functionality of the plaintiff’s claimed trade dress.
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September 22, 2023
AI Health Care Company Seeks To Defend Common-Law Trademark
SAN FRANCISCO — A company’s registration of an already-in-use trademark and its intention to use the mark going forward sow confusion and tie the name’s existing goodwill to a disreputable entrepreneur in violation of the California unfair competition law (UCL), among others, a company hoping to use artificial intelligence in the medical education space says in a complaint.
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September 21, 2023
Fee Request In Trademark Row Is ‘Meritless,’ Kentucky Federal Judge Concludes
FRANKFORT, Ky. — Upon finding that a plaintiff did not “show exceptionally problematic behavior” in seeking a declaration of trademark infringement, a federal judge in Kentucky on Sept. 20 denied a bid for attorney fees by two prevailing defendants.