Mealey's Trademarks : Mealey's : Legal News & Analysis

Mealey's Trademarks

October 24, 2023
Video Game Companies Argue Whether Supreme Court Ruling Affects ‘Warzone’ Mark Row

PASADENA, Calif. — In supplemental briefs filed at the behest of the Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals, two video game companies dispute whether the recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling in Jack Daniel’s Properties Inc. v. VIP Products LLC has any impact on the present reverse confusion trademark dispute pertaining to the “Warzone” mark used by both companies.
October 24, 2023
Rebuttal Witness To Survey Results Ruled Admissible In Trademark Dispute

SOUTH BEND, Ind. — Forest River Inc., a manufacturer of recreational vehicles, lost its bid to exclude an expert witness retained to rebut conclusions reached by its expert who conducted a consumer survey when an Indiana federal judge found that the expert’s opinions are admissible in the trademark infringement dispute.
October 24, 2023
Motion To Strike Jury Demand In Trademark Row Denied In Pennsylvania

PHILADELPHIA — A federal judge in Pennsylvania on Oct. 23 addressed the “thorny” question of whether a request for an accounting of profits in connection with allegations of trademark infringement and counterfeiting is strictly equitable, but ultimately found that he need not definitively answer because “many” other claims in the case are legal in nature.
October 23, 2023
Cancellation Of ‘Captain Cannabis’ Trademark Upheld On Appeal

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Trademark Trial and Appeal Board’s determination that a pro se petitioner has priority of use of the “Captain Cannabis” trademark in connection with comic books was affirmed by the Federal Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals.
October 20, 2023
Panel: No Irreparable Harm If Relief Denied In Trademark Dispute

NEW YORK — A March order by a federal judge in Connecticut that denied a request by two trademark infringement counterclaimants for a preliminary injunction in their row with former sublicensees will stand, the Second Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals ruled Oct. 19.
October 19, 2023
Board Exceeded Authority When Canceling Mark, Divided Panel Concludes

WASHINGTON, D.C. — A panel majority of the Federal Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals on Oct. 18 reversed and remanded cancellation of the “DANTANNA’S” trademark by the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board, clarifying that the board’s authority to take such action is limited to instances of fraud that occur during registration.
October 19, 2023
On Eve Of Trademark Trial, New Damages Theory By Ford Fails

DETROIT — An “11th hour” bid by Ford Motor Co. for damages under an unjust enrichment theory in a trademark infringement and trade secret misappropriation dispute with a former business associate failed in Michigan federal court.
October 18, 2023
Michigan Federal Judge Won’t Stay Relief Curtailing Use Of ‘Libertarian Party’

DETROIT — Writing that various defendants are “free to identify as Libertarians and voice their political opinions but may not engage in trademark infringement,” a federal judge in Michigan denied a request to stay a preliminary injunction she entered in August while the defendants challenge the relief before the Sixth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals.
October 18, 2023
New York Federal Judge: Injunction Not Warranted In ‘Jolene’ Trademark Row

NEW YORK — In a dispute between two New York City establishments over the “Jolene” common-law trademark, a federal judge in New York on Oct. 17 denied a request for a preliminary injunction.
October 16, 2023
Supreme Court Grants Certiorari In 2nd Challenge To Chevron Deference

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. Supreme Court on Oct. 13 granted a petition for a writ of certiorari in a second case challenging the doctrine of Chevron deference and ordered that it be briefed on a schedule allowing argument “in tandem” with a pending case pertaining to the same issue, both of which involve challenges to regulations that require fishing vessels to pay federal monitors.
October 16, 2023
High Court Denies Petition Against Sony Over Trademark Rights In Celebrity Personas

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. Supreme Court denied a petition for certiorari in which the executor of a deceased actor’s estate asks the U.S. Supreme Court to find that a celebrity owns trademark rights in his or her persona under the Lanham Act, as part of a lawsuit for violation of California’s unfair competition law (UCL) against Sony Pictures Entertainment Inc. based on usage of the actor’s persona in a Quentin Tarantino film.
October 06, 2023
Counterclaim Over Ad Statements Dismissed In Trademark Litigation

DETROIT — A dispute between competitors in the energy drink industry will proceed without a counterclaim for false advertising, a federal judge in Michigan ruled.
October 03, 2023
Panel Affirms Lawsuit Over Defense, Enforcement Of Trademark Was Untimely

NEW ORLEANS — An action under Louisiana common law stemming from efforts to defend and enforce previously registered trade dress was filed “simply too late,” a panel of the Fifth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals affirmed.
October 03, 2023
Certiorari Bid Denied In Dispute Over Challenge To Trademark Validity

WASHINGTON, D.C. — A California credit union on Oct. 2 failed to persuade the U.S. Supreme Court to review a decision by the Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals that found that a declaratory trademark invalidity claim was mooted by a grant of summary judgment in favor of a party accused of trademark infringement.
September 29, 2023
Dunkin’ Donuts Files Infringement Action Against E-Cig Company For ‘Vapin’ Logo

BROOKLYN, N.Y. — The parent company of the Dunkin’ Donuts chain and an affiliated company are suing an e-cigarette company and its CEO in New York federal court for trademark infringement, alleging that the defendants are illegally using a Dunkin’ Donuts-style logo design to boost sales of their “Vapin’ Donuts” e-cigarette products.
September 29, 2023
Sony Waives Response To Petition Over Trademark Rights In Celebrity Personas

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Sony Pictures Entertainment Inc. opted against responding to a petition for certiorari in which the executor of a deceased actor’s estate asks the U.S. Supreme Court to find that a celebrity owns trademark rights in his or her persona under the Lanham Act.
September 25, 2023
AI Company: Health Care Startup Stole Sci-Fi-Based Trademark

NEW YORK — A startup health care company that uses artificial intelligence to tailor treatments skipped the hard part of earning its own reputation and instead simply stole an existing and completely unique name and established trademark in an effort to confuse consumers, an artificial intelligence technology company tells a New York federal court.
September 22, 2023
Trademark Infringement Dispute Between Clothing Boutiques Is Reinstated

CINCINNATI — A divided panel of the Sixth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals on Sept. 21 said a federal judge in Kentucky wrongly dismissed allegations of trademark infringement leveled by a boutique children’s clothing designer but rightly ruled in favor of a defendant with regard to functionality of the plaintiff’s claimed trade dress.
September 22, 2023
AI Health Care Company Seeks To Defend Common-Law Trademark

SAN FRANCISCO — A company’s registration of an already-in-use trademark and its intention to use the mark going forward sow confusion and tie the name’s existing goodwill to a disreputable entrepreneur in violation of the California unfair competition law (UCL), among others, a company hoping to use artificial intelligence in the medical education space says in a complaint.
September 21, 2023
Fee Request In Trademark Row Is ‘Meritless,’ Kentucky Federal Judge Concludes

FRANKFORT, Ky. — Upon finding that a plaintiff did not “show exceptionally problematic behavior” in seeking a declaration of trademark infringement, a federal judge in Kentucky on Sept. 20 denied a bid for attorney fees by two prevailing defendants.
September 20, 2023
Florida Federal Magistrate Judge: Trademark Owner Entitled To $284K Fee Award

ORLANDO, Fla. — Alan Parsons, co-founder of The Alan Parsons Project rock band, should be awarded $284,919.05 in attorney fees in connection with his successful litigation of a trademark infringement action against a former business associate, a federal magistrate judge in Florida found.
September 19, 2023
Judge Grants AI Image Company Default Judgment In Trademark Dispute

SAN FRANCISCO — A federal judge in California adopted a report and recommendation granting default judgment in a trademark case involving the “brazen conduct” of a “trademark pirate,” enjoining the defendants from infringing on artificial intelligence image generator Midjourney Inc.’s trademark and awarding $72,972 in attorney fees but denying a request for damages.
September 19, 2023
Bid For Trademark Cancellation Was Properly Dismissed, Panel Rules

NEW YORK — The Second Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals on Sept. 18 upheld dismissal of a lawsuit seeking cancellation of the “LEFT CENTER RIGHT” trademark, agreeing with a federal magistrate judge in New York that there is no case or controversy between the parties.
September 18, 2023
Government Urges High Court To Uphold ‘Bedrock Principle’ Of Chevron Deference

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. secretary of Commerce, two National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) officials and the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) (collectively, the government) urge the U.S. Supreme Court in a Sept. 15 brief to not overrule the doctrine of Chevron deference in a challenge to fishery regulations that were upheld by the District of Columbia Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals, writing that doing so could “cause disruption” to complex federal regulatory schemes.
September 18, 2023
Panel Articulates Standard For Comparison Prior Art In Design Patent Disputes

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Four years after vacating a summary judgment of infringement in a dispute over a patented heat reflecting material, the Federal Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals on Sept. 15 vacated a jury’s verdict, on remand, of noninfringement in the same dispute.