Free Speech or Scandal? The Slants Case and the Future of Disparaging Trademarks
Last week the Federal Circuit scheduled oral argument en banc in THE SLANTS trademark case for the morning of October 2, 2015, taking up the question of whether §2(a) of the Lanham Act (15 U.S.C. §...
View ArticleBad News for the Redskins Trademark – Registration Exempt from First...
Last Wednesday the Eastern District of Virginia issued its opinion and order on cross-motions for summary judgment in Pro-Football v. Blackhorse, the case in which the National Football League (NFL)...
View ArticleBig Tobacco Heads to Court Over Cigarette Plain Packaging Laws
The British legislation, aimed at curbing demand for cigarettes, requires that all cigarettes be sold in uniform packs with all branding, including colors, logos and other trademarks, removed....
View ArticleDancing Baby Center of Test Case Over Bad DMCA Takedown Requests
In February 2007, Stephanie Lenz uploaded a 29-second video of her son dancing in her kitchen to the Prince song “Let’s Go Crazy” to YouTube. Universal Music Group, Prince’s publishing administrator...
View ArticleTo the Batmobile! Copyright Saves the Day in Gotham City
Mark Towle owns Gotham Garage, which manufactures and sells replicas of automobiles featured in famous motion pictures and television programs. Gotham Garage specifically sold fully constructed cars as...
View ArticleTrademark Tea Leaves: Balancing Product Secrecy with Public Trademark...
Among the most promising tech tea leaves product launch predictors rely on are publicly available applications and registrations for intellectual property. Given the importance of product launches and...
View Article‘Happy Birthday To You’ Now In the Public Domain (Sort of)
For as long as I can remember, whenever we celebrated a birthday, we inevitably would gather around the birthday boy or girl and sing “Happy Birthday To You.” But now that the copyright is in question,...
View ArticleUnconstitutional – CAFC Rules PTO Cannot Deny Registration for Disparaging...
Yesterday the Federal Circuit in an en banc decision held that the portion of Section 2(a) of the Trademark Act, which bars federal registration for trademarks that are disparaging, is unconstitutional...
View ArticleNapa Valley Vintners first wine group in US to receive certification mark...
Earlier this month, Napa Valley Vintners (NVV), the nonprofit trade association that works to “promote, protect and enhance the Napa Valley appellation,” became the first wine group in the U.S. to be...
View ArticleSocial Media and the Rise of Opportunistic #Trademark Filings
Last June, Walter Palmer, an American dentist and recreational big game hunter, shot and killed Cecil, a southwest African lion who had been the subject of a study by Oxford University and a major...
View ArticleBrand Owners Watch as Smoke Clears on Plain Packaging Efforts
The major premise of plain packaging is that when stripped of producers’ logos, brand images and promotional matter, tobacco products simply aren’t as attractive to consumers. Reduced focus on logos...
View ArticleTrader Joe’s and Extraterritorial Application of the Lanham Act
Trader Joe’s sued Hallatt (d/b/a Pirate Joe’s) for trademark infringement in the Western District of Washington, invoking the court’s federal question and supplemental jurisdiction. Trader Joe’s...
View ArticleSupreme Court to Consider “Disparaging” Trademarks
The U.S. Supreme Court agreed yesterday to review a Federal Circuit ruling that held unconstitutional a law prohibiting registration of trademarks that “may disparage” people or groups. In a case...
View ArticleC-Suite Executives More Aware of Trademark Portfolio Risk and Reward
Eight in ten C-level executives believe trademark infringement of their marks is on the rise... Despite their feeling that trademark infringement is on the rise, 66% of organizations stated they had...
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