World Famous Hawleywoods Barber Shop
21 Jan 2014
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Trademarks: Sometimes Calling It Quits Is the Best Course of Action
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...
Hookah Company Inhales Copyright Loss, Exhales Attorney Fees
13 Jan 2014
Last week, the California Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit (the Court) affirmed the District Court’s summary judgment for defendant Starbuzz Tobacco, Inc. (Starbuzz), stating that Starbuzz did not violate the copyright protection granted to Inhale, Inc (Inhale) in 2011 for their hookah water container. The case, Inhale, Inc. v. Starbuzz Tobacco, Inc., specifically...
Galderma Labs Patents Invalidated for Obviousness
19 Dec 2013
Last week, on December 11, 2013, in Galderma Labs., L.P. v. Tolmar, Inc., the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit (Newman, Bryson, Prost*) reversed the district court’s judgment that U.S. Patents No. 7,579,377, No. 7,737,181, No. 7,834,060, No. 7,838,558, and No. 7,868,044, (the Patents) were not invalid for obviousness under 35 U.S.C. §...
Proposed Legislation May Now Permit Fee Shifting in Patent Litigation
13 Dec 2013
Currently in patent infringement cases (including declaratory judgment cases), 35 U.S.C. section 285 reads, “the court in exceptional cases may award reasonable attorney fees to the prevailing party” (emphasis added). As of December 5, 2013, House Representative Bob Goodlatte’s “Innovation Act,” among other changes, seeks to amend this fee shifting statute to have the non-prevailing...
Petronas v. GoDaddy.com: No Contributory Liability for Cybersquatting Under the ACPA
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...
Doctrine of Tacking Key in Trademark Win for Defendant Hana Bank
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...
Apple, Inc. v. Samsung Elecs. Co.: Permanent Injunction Unlikely
27 Nov 2013
Back in July of 2012, a jury returned a powerful verdict against Samsung, in a suit filed by Apple (AAPL), claiming Samsung infringed on several patents, and diluted Apple’s trade dress for the iPhone. That jury found that 26 Samsung smartphones and tablets infringed Apple patents and that six Samsung smartphones diluted Apple’s registered iPhone...