Mealey's Trademarks
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November 18, 2022
Jack Daniel’s Asks High Court To Rule On 1st Amendment Protection For Parodies
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Representing that a circuit split exists on the proper standard for deciding when a parody or humorous work infringes a trademark it is lampooning, Jack Daniel’s Properties Inc., in a reply supporting its petition for certiorari, requests that the U.S. Supreme Court provide guidance on whether courts should focus on the likelihood of confusion or protections under the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.
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November 15, 2022
High Court Won’t Hear Trademark Row Over Use In Commerce Requirement
WASHINGTON, D.C. — In its Nov. 14 order list the U.S. Supreme Court turned away a petition for writ of certiorari by a Liechtenstein-based manufacturer of distilled spirits whose trademark claims against Bacardi U.S.A. Inc. were rejected.
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November 14, 2022
Blockchain Firm’s Trademark, Unfair Competition Suit Over Meta’s Logo Dismissed
SAN FRANCISCO — A Swiss blockchain organization failed to establish any likelihood of confusion between its marks and those recently adopted by Meta Platforms Inc., a California federal judge ruled, granting Meta’s motion to dismiss trademark infringement, trademark dilution and unfair competition claims against it.
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November 09, 2022
Judge Awards Mask Maker $5,000 In UCL, Trademark Suit, Cites Counterfeiter’s Refunds
LOS ANGELES — A California federal judge awarded a Hong Kong company with a trademark for disposable face masks $5,000 in statutory damages against a company that sold infringing copies of its masks, rejecting its request for $70,000 in damages based on evidence that the counterfeiter refunded all infringing purchases and denying the trademark-holder’s request for attorney fees “because the case is not ‘exceptional.’”
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November 09, 2022
Panel Upholds Denial Of Fees In Dispute Over ‘Museum Of Illusions’
SAN FRANCISCO — The operators of the “Museum of Illusions” on Hollywood Boulevard along the Hollywood Walk of Fame were properly denied their request to recover the attorney fees they incurred in defending allegations of trademark infringement, the Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals ruled Nov. 8.
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November 04, 2022
Extraterritorial Application Of Lanham Act Will Be Argued At High Court
WASHINGTON, D.C. — In a miscellaneous order issued Nov. 4, the U.S. Supreme Court announced that it will take on a dispute over application of the Lanham Act to infringing sales that take place purely abroad.
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November 01, 2022
Motion To Voluntarily Dismiss Trademark Case Granted In Illinois
CHICAGO — A declaratory judgment action over the rights to use “Kate” in connection with two boutique hotels was dismissed Oct. 31 by a federal judge in Illinois.
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October 27, 2022
In California Copyright, Lanham Act Case, Meta Wins Dismissal
SAN FRANCISCO — A federal judge in California granted a motion to dismiss putative class claims of copyright infringement and false advertising leveled in connection with Facebook’s embedding tool, but the plaintiff won leave to amend his complaint a second time.
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October 26, 2022
Panel Leaves Default Judgment Intact In ‘SUNY’ Trademark Case
NEW YORK — Efforts by several former students in the State University of New York (SUNY) system to undo a default judgment entered against them by a New York federal judge failed Oct. 25, when the Second Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals affirmed.
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October 26, 2022
In Protracted Trademark Battle, New York Federal Judge Denies JMOL Request
NEW YORK — A June jury verdict of willful infringement of the “Lexington” trademark and subsequent award of $1.6 million in disgorged profits will stand, a federal judge in New York ruled.
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October 24, 2022
Motion To Enforce Copyright, Trademark Settlement Granted In New York
NEW YORK — A federal judge in New York on Oct. 21 granted a request by copyright and trademark infringement plaintiffs to enforce an informal settlement with a defendant who “balked” and later filed invalidity and cancellation counterclaims.
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October 24, 2022
Petitioners: ‘Widespread Confusion’ Exists On Foreign Lanham Act Application
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Lauding a recently filed amicus curiae brief by the U.S. government, a group of foreign petitioners tells the U.S. Supreme Court in a supplemental brief that the case, which included the issuance of a worldwide injunction, provides an opportunity for the court to resolve a “deep, mature, and multifarious circuit” split over extraterritorial application of the Lanham Act.
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October 21, 2022
Hoping Case Will Remain An ‘Anomaly,’ Panel Reverses Ruling In Insurer’s Favor
CHICAGO — The Seventh Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals reversed a lower federal court’s entry of judgment on the pleadings in favor of an insurer in a coverage dispute arising from underlying trade dress infringement claims that were brought against the insured a decade ago, remanding for the lower court to resolve the remaining issue of breach of contract damages and emphasizing “that this case is, and hopefully will remain, an anomaly.”
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October 21, 2022
Florida Federal Magistrate Recommends $1M Award Per Counterfeited Mark
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — Several luxury watch makers are entitled to $1 million from each of nearly two dozen defaulting defendants accused of selling counterfeit products, a Florida federal magistrate judge has recommended.
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October 20, 2022
Dog Toy Firm To High Court: Jack Daniel’s Lacks Sense Of Humor In Trademark Row
WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals correctly found that a dog toy at the heart of a trademark tarnishment lawsuit is a parody of a Jack Daniel’s whiskey bottle that is protected by the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, the toy maker tells the U.S. Supreme Court in a brief opposing Jack Daniel’s Properties Inc.’s petition for certiorari.
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October 19, 2022
Lanham Act Plaintiffs’ Bid To Lift Stay Denied By Illinois Federal Judge
CHICAGO — In an Oct. 18 order, a federal judge in Illinois denied a request by two restaurants to lift a stay of their allegations that Grubhub Inc. misappropriated their trademarks, entitling them to an award of disgorged profits, upon finding that a proposed amended class action settlement in Colorado “could potentially resolve several aspects of Plaintiffs’ claims.”
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October 18, 2022
Pennsylvania Federal Judge Says Penn State Acted In Bad Faith In Trademark Row
HARRISBURG, Pa. — Although granting a motion by The Pennsylvania State University (Penn State) to amend its trademark infringement complaint to add new defendants, claims and allegations, a federal judge in Pennsylvania said the school may not remove a trademark from the case that is the subject of a cancellation counterclaim.
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October 17, 2022
No Coverage For Trademark Infringement Suit, 3rd Circuit Affirms
PHILADELPHIA — The Third Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals on Oct. 14 affirmed a lower federal court’s ruling in favor of a commercial liability insurer in an insured’s lawsuit seeking coverage for an underlying trademark infringement lawsuit, finding that the policy coverage for trade dress infringement did not extend to the underlying action.
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October 13, 2022
New York Federal Trademark Case Tossed Over Forum Selection Clause
NEW YORK — Allegations of infringement by a cryptocurrency software company against its former CEO over the “SingularDTV” trademark were dismissed by a federal judge in New York, who said a forum selection clause requires the dispute to proceed in Switzerland.
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October 10, 2022
Tractor Trade Dress Claim Over Video Game Dismissed In Washington
SEATTLE — Allegations of trade dress infringement by the maker of “Mudrunner” were tossed by a federal judge in Washington, but the plaintiff was awarded leave to amend its complaint against the makers of a competing video game for a third time.
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October 10, 2022
Texas Federal Judge: Acquiescence No Defense To Copyright Claims
DALLAS — On the eve of trial, a plaintiff embroiled in Texas federal litigation with a former associate has prevailed on its position that acquiescence is unavailable as an affirmative defense to allegations of copyright infringement.
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October 10, 2022
Amici Support Jack Daniel’s In High Court Trademark Tarnishment Dispute
WASHINGTON, D.C. — In amicus curiae briefs filed in the U.S. Supreme Court, Jack Daniel’s Properties Inc. received support from such parties as Levi Strauss & Co., American Intellectual Property Law Association (AIPLA) and Campbell Soup Co., which encourage the high court to grant the whiskey maker’s petition for certiorari over questions about the use of another’s trademark on a commercial product or in a humorous context.
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October 05, 2022
Washington Federal Judge Says Injunctive Relief Not Warranted In Trademark Row
SEATTLE — A dispute over the “Allure” trademark for use in connection with cosmetic surgery will proceed without a preliminary injunction in place, a federal judge in Washington ruled Oct. 4.
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September 29, 2022
Trademark Claims Over Durian-Cake Packaging Won’t Be Dismissed
BROOKLYN, N.Y. — Efforts to dismiss allegations of trademark infringement leveled against a supermarket, an importer and distributor and several individuals over the packaging of durian cakes were largely unsuccessful Sept. 28, when a federal judge in New York ruled that only one individual defendant is entitled to dismissal.
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September 28, 2022
Virginia Federal Judge Denies Bid To Dismiss ‘GNG’ Trademark Case
RICHMOND, Va. — Allegations by a former garage that its former employees infringed its unregistered trademark and refused to hand over administrative access to a business Facebook page will proceed, a federal judge in Virginia ruled.