6 Oct 2021
If you’re seeking to trademark intellectual property for your company or brand, whether it’s a product name, a logo, or a slogan, you may be tempted to do it yourself. And provided you live in the U.S., you’re eligible to do so without the help of an attorney. But going it alone isn’t always a...
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...
4 Dec 2013
Last week, I wrote an article discussing the disputed Cracker Barrel moniker in use by Kraft Foods Group, Inc. and Cracker Barrel Old Country Store. In it, I noted “if you want to avoid unnecessary and costly legal action, make sure your brand is unmistakably yours.” A court decision released in late November drove home...
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...