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Mealey's Trademarks

  • January 21, 2025

    Supreme Court Rejects Jurisdictional Appeal In Counterfeit Doll Case

    WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. Supreme Court left in place an opinion by the Second Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals reversing a New York federal judge’s finding that the court lacked personal jurisdiction in a case brought by dollmaker American Girl LLC against a Chinese company for allegedly selling counterfeited goods; the high court denied the Chinese company’s petition for a writ of certiorari on Jan. 21.

  • January 21, 2025

    Medical Services Provider Accused Of Unlawfully ‘Annexing’ Sports Clinic

    LOS ANGELES — Two entities involved in operating a provider of sports medicine and orthopedic surgery and two affiliated doctors filed a complaint in California state court accusing a nonprofit medical services provider and its executives of unlawfully seeking to “absorb . . . and unlawfully control” the sports medicine providers in violation of California’s unfair competition law (UCL), trademark dilution laws and other state laws prohibiting employment-related retaliation.

  • January 17, 2025

    2nd Circuit: Judge Erred In Similarity Analysis In Nut Trade Dress Fight

    NEW YORK — A Second Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel on Jan. 16 reversed a New York federal judge’s dismissal of a trade dress infringement dispute between competing nut companies, holding that the plaintiff company adequately alleged the possibility of confusion between the packaging of the companies’ respective pistachio products.

  • January 17, 2025

    Split 4th Circuit Finds MOKE Mark Genericness Finding Lacked Evidence

    RICHMOND, Va. — A split Fourth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel reversed a Virginia federal judge’s holding that MOKE is a generic term describing a type of vehicle that is unable to be trademarked, holding that there is a “dearth of relevant evidence in the record” because the matter of genericness was raised only after the conclusion of a trial.

  • January 16, 2025

    9th Circuit: Kinetic Sculpture Company’s Copyright Claim Survives Dismissal

    SAN FRANCISCO — A Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel held that a plaintiff company adequately alleged that another company infringed on copyrighted elements of its kinetic sculptures that could be manipulated into various shapes to survive a dismissal motion; the panel reversed a California federal judge’s order dismissing the copyright infringement claim.

  • January 15, 2025

    Ozempic Maker Sues Seller Of Compounded Drugs, Alleging Trademark Infringement

    ATLANTA — The manufacturer of Ozempic, Wegovy and Rybelsus sued a weight-loss center in Georgia that sells and promotes compounded drug products that purport to contain semaglutide for false advertising and trademark infringement in a Georgia federal court.

  • January 14, 2025

    AI Voice Cloning Company Voice Actors Brief Motion To Dismiss

    NEW YORK — Responding to an artificial intelligence company’s contention that voice actors’ claims were time-barred and suffered from other defects, two named class action plaintiffs told a federal judge in New York that they own the rights to their voices and that the ongoing use of cloned voices sold under different names places the case within the applicable time frame.

  • January 10, 2025

    Judge: Defendants Don’t Show Invalidity Of Baby Bag Trade Dress, Copyright

    MIAMI — A federal judge in Florida dismissed counterclaims brought by two companies accused of trade dress and copyright infringement by the maker of baby carrier products, holding that the defendant companies failed to show that the plaintiff company’s trade dress or copyright were invalid.

  • January 09, 2025

    Judge Finds Probiotic Infant Product Patent Claims To Be Invalid

    CHICAGO — A federal judge in Illinois granted summary judgment in favor of a defendant biopharmaceutical company accused of infringing on two patents related to probiotic products for infants, holding that the relevant claims of the patents were anticipated by prior art references.

  • January 09, 2025

    Company Must Produce Witness’ Lawsuit Funding Evidence In OpenAI Trademark Case

    SAN FRANCISCO — A company locked in a suit with OpenAI Inc. over trademark infringement must produce documents related to a nonparty witness who is an investor and is funding the company’s defense as the evidence goes to his credibility and bias, a federal magistrate judge in California said Jan. 8.  In a second order the court granted OpenAI additional time to depose the company’s founder.

  • January 09, 2025

    Judge: Bar’s Arbitration Arguments In Trademark Fight With Chicago Cubs Fail

    CHICAGO — A federal judge in Illinois refused to dismiss a trademark infringement complaint brought by the Chicago Cubs Baseball Club LLC against a bar that overlooks Wrigley Field and its owner, alleging that the bar defendants knowingly falsely promote the business as a partner with the baseball team; the judge held that the bar defendants could not hinge their dismissal motion on an argument related to arbitration.

  • January 07, 2025

    Color Of Hip Implants Functional, Not Trademarkable, Federal Circuit Says

    WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (TTAB) was correct to cancel trademarks owned by an artificial hip parts manufacturer, a panel in the Federal Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals held, saying that the pink color of the relevant parts is a functional element referenced in the company’s now-expired patent.

  • January 06, 2025

    Split 9th Circuit Panel Revives Authors’ Trademark Suit Over Film Name

    SAN FRANCISCO — A split Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel reversed a California federal judge’s decision to dismiss trademark claims brought by co-authors of a book called “Gringo” against makers of an otherwise unrelated film bearing the same name, with the majority holding that the co-authors plausibly alleged the likelihood of confusion between the works.

  • January 06, 2025

    9th Circuit Holds Equity Shares Aren’t ‘Goods’ Under Lanham Act

    SAN FRANCISCO — A partly split Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel affirmed a California federal judge’s dismissal of an American legal services website company’s trademark infringement suit against a similarly named Japanese legal software company beginning to sell equity shares to American investors, holding that selling equity does not meet the Lanham Act’s criteria of the sales of goods and services.

  • January 03, 2025

    9th Circuit Affirms $56 Million Trademark Award Against Molson Coors

    SAN JOSE, Calif. — A panel in the Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals affirmed a California federal jury’s entry of a $56 million award against the Molson Coors Beverage Co. USA LLC in a trademark dispute commenced by a craft brewery that alleged that the beer giant infringed on its trademark related to the word “stone.”

  • January 02, 2025

    Rap Producer Appeals Dismissal Of Trademark Suit To 2nd Circuit

    NEW YORK — A producer of rap music appealed to the Second Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals a New York federal judge’s decision to dismiss with prejudice his copyright and trademark claims stemming from a dispute over ownership of intellectual property associated with a seminal hip-hop group; the judge held that the producer failed to show that the relevant trademark was valid.

  • December 23, 2024

    No Error In Jury’s Trademark Damages, 7th Circuit Says

    CHICAGO — A Seventh Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel said a federal judge in Illinois committed no error in allowing the question of punitive damages in a trademark infringement case involving identically named nutritional supplement products to go to jurors, who entered a combined total $900,000 in punitive damages against the defendant company and its two principals.

  • December 18, 2024

    9th Circuit Affirms Rejection Of Counterclaims In Aviation Trademark Dispute

    SAN FRANCISCO — A Nevada federal magistrate judge did not err when it struck an airplane manufacturer’s request for a jury trial and denied it relief on its counterclaims against an airplane charter company of trademark infringement and other causes of action, a Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel held Dec. 17.

  • December 13, 2024

    Judge: Oil Company Can Remove Infringing Signage From Gas Station In Contempt

    PHILADELPHIA — An oil and gasoline company will be allowed to remove and paint over signage at a Philadelphia gas station after a Pennsylvania federal judge held the gas station in contempt for failing to comply with a permanent injunction ordering the company remove signs bearing the oil company’s trademarks.

  • December 12, 2024

    Va. Federal Judge Rules On Admissibility Of Dueling Trademark Valuation Experts

    ALEXANDRIA, Va. — A federal judge in Virigina ruled that an expert retained by a company suing its competitor for trademark infringement will provide testimony beyond the scope of a juror and denied a defense motion to exclude the testimony but found that a competing expert failed to properly explain his methodology for his conclusions and granted the plaintiff company’s motion to exclude in part.

  • December 12, 2024

    Judge Enters Stipulated Injunction, Judgment In ‘MARS’ Trademark Dispute

    LOS ANGELES — A federal judge in California entered a permanent injunction against defendant entities in a trademark dispute over the word mark “MARS,” the day after they filed a joint request with the plaintiff advertising agency for a stipulated judgment.

  • December 12, 2024

    California Drink Shop Appeals Dismissal Of Trademark Complaint

    LOS ANGELES — A plaintiff beverage store based in California and its owner appealed to the Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals on Dec. 11 a California federal judge’s order dismissing the trademark infringement case it brought against a New York wine store; the judge held that the plaintiff failed to establish personal jurisdiction for the New York shop.

  • December 12, 2024

    High Court Hears Arguments On Lanham Act Disgorgement Rules

    WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. Supreme Court heard arguments on Dec. 11 regarding a Fourth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals decision affirming a $43 million disgorgement award entered in a real estate company’s favor in a trademark infringement dispute with an entity it said infringed its marks, with the parties sparring over whether the Fourth Circuit and a Virginia federal court were correct to include profits from entities affiliated with the alleged infringer in damages calculations.

  • December 06, 2024

    Injunction Justified In Energy Drink Trademark Fight, 11th Circuit Says

    ATLANTA — An 11th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel said a Georgia federal judge did not err in granting a preliminary injunction in a trademark infringement dispute between two manufacturers of dietary supplements over two alternative spellings of the word “cranked” in relation to energy drink products.

  • December 05, 2024

    Judge OKs Permanent Injunction Against Distributor In Import Trademark Case

    ATLANTA — A Georgia federal judge entered a permanent injunction against a defendant distribution company in a trademark dispute brought by the maker of a drink brand and its exclusive American distributor after the parties entered a stipulation indicating that the defendant company agreed to stop shipping the drink into the country.