13 Dec 2024
The Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (TTAB) is a tribunal within the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) that adjudicates disputes related to federal trademark registration
4 Jun 2014
If you were browsing for watches or watch accessories and saw a watch brand, SWATCH, sitting aside another watch brand, SWAP, would it be plausible to think the two were in some way related? The District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia doesn’t think so, and the Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit...
29 Jan 2014
As Super Bowl Sunday approaches, more and more commercials reference the “Big Game” in attempt to boost sales by indirect association with the hugely popular finale to the American football season. Watch enough television leading up to the Super Bowl and you might begin think that the only products sold in all of the United...
20 Jan 2014
Last year, the Supreme Court handed down a decision in a trademark case that in essence had nothing to do with trademarks. The original battle at the lower court was over a line of shoes and trademark owned by Nike called Air Force 1s, which another company, Already, claimed was an invalid trademark. Already designs...
9 Dec 2013
In a case involving the Anti-Cybersquatting Consumer Protection Act (the ACPA), the Ninth Circuit Court agreed with a lower court’s decision that the ACPA does not provide a cause of action for contributory cybersquatting. Under the ACPA, cybersquatting is defined as registering, trafficking, or using a domain name with bad faith intent to profit from...
27 Nov 2013
Kraft Foods Group, Inc. (KRFT), a company whose mention instantly conjures up images of arguably delicious and unfortunately lactose-filled cheese, recently obtained a preliminary injunction stopping Cracker Barrel Old Country Store (CBRL) from selling food products in grocery stores using the Cracker Barrel moniker. To simplify matters, the court and the relevant parties acronymized Cracker...
5 Oct 2013
The United States Trademark and Patent Office (USPTO) recently refused registrations for trademark filed by the city of Houston, Texas and the District of Columbia, which sought to register marks that included official government seals. The court cited Section 2(b) of the Lanham Act, which prohibits registration of a proposed trademark that consists of or...
12 Jul 2013
Much to my dismay, this article has nothing to do with elves, goblins, or trolls, but an epic legal battle is looming on the horizon, and it may bring new meaning to the oft repeated phrase, “One ring to rule them all”, made famous by celebrated author of The Lord of the Rings trilogy, J.R.R....
10 Jul 2013
Counterfeiting conjures a rather specific image whenever it is brought up in conversation. Most would imagine some thugs hiding out in a dark basement where a heavy machine consistently prints out reams and reams of fake money. While this is the most notable example of counterfeiting, it is hardly the only example; intellectual property has...
9 Jul 2013
Counterfeiting has been a developing topic in the last few years for many reasons. While it use to be that finding counterfeit products meant going through black markets and unsavory characters to reach such tainted goods, today, one need only look to the internet. Whether through eBay, Amazon, or any other website, counterfeit products are...