The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) recently decided that agreements reached by 1-800 Contacts, Inc. with a number of its competitors to settle claims that the competitors’ online search advertising infringed on 1-800 Contacts’ trademarks unlawfully restricted the competitors’ ability to engage in search engine marketing, to the detriment of both consumers and search engines. The … Continue Reading
The United States Federal Circuit recently issued a precedential opinion addressing trade dress secondary meaning. The decision establishes a six-factor test to determine whether trade-dress acquired secondary meaning and clarifies a variety of other, related matters. Converse appealed a final determination of the International Trade Commission (“ITC”) that Converse’s U.S. trademark number 4,398,753 (“the ‘753 … Continue Reading
A July 2018 decision of the UK Intellectual Property Enterprise Court (IPEC) appears to have put paid to Nike’s recent “Nothing beats a Londoner” ad campaign. The case highlights, with hindsight, a perhaps regrettable commercial/legal decision by the sports giant, whilst also demonstrating the usefulness of the IPEC as a means of speedy and effective … Continue Reading
On 24 April 2018 the Intellectual Property Court published its Decision in case A41 85807/2016 between Swiss-based Novartis AG and local generic Nativa LLC. The IP Court’s position in this case may result in an extra defense granted for patent holders against unfair practice of registration of generics drugs until patent expiry.… Continue Reading
The U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Indiana sided with the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and awarded a permanent injunction against game developer Kizzang Inc. (Kizzang) over a mobile and online game that infringed the NCAA’s trademarks “March Madness” and “Final Four.” Background The NCAA administers inter-collegiate sports across the United States … Continue Reading
Trade secrets, together with patents, trademarks, and copyrights, are one of the four main types of intellectual property. Unlike the three other types of IP, trade secrets are never made public. Trademarks and service marks are obtainable only through public use that creates an association between the mark and the origin of specific goods or … Continue Reading
Representing our client Inditex S.A. (“Inditex”), owner of the famous fashion brand “ZARA,” Lee International obtained a favorable decision in its invalidation action against the registered mark “THEZARA” for motel and hotel services. Facts Lee International filed an invalidation action against the registered mark “THEZARA” for “motel, hotel,” etc., on behalf of Inditex. The invalidation … Continue Reading
bkp partners Martin Reinisch and Georg Fellner have obtained a favorable judgment by an Austrian Appellate Court for bkp client Spirits International (SPI Group) confirming the latter’s rights in the iconic Stolichnaya and Moskovskaya trademarks in Austria. The favorable judgment has been rendered in a lengthy, complex court proceeding which is the Austrian part of … Continue Reading
Sometimes blogging topics are hard to come by. It is often difficult because, as a sage once noted in discussing the search for The Ultimate Computer, one wants to do one’s best, but something like creativity “doesn’t work on an assembly line basis. … You can’t simply say, today I will be brilliant,” insightful, informative … Continue Reading
In a suit alleging trademark infringement and unfair competition, the Korean Patent Court concluded that the use of the mark “” in connection with “unmanned lodging services” used for so-called love motels with an image of a naked woman, did not infringe Outback Steakhouse’s trademark. But it did constitute unfair competition because that use harmed … Continue Reading
The search for spices, and the gold that one expected to find nearby (or earn through sale of the spices), in many ways drove the Age of Exploration. And spices still hold a special place in our economy and in our imagination; in fact, we believe that spices “all hold magic.” Part of that magic … Continue Reading
There is a popular television show in the United States called American Pickers, which follow the adventures of antique and collectible “pickers” Mike Wolfe and Frank Fritz. Wolfe and Fritz travel around in a van with the logo Antique Archeology to buy, or “pick,” various items for resale, for clients, or for their own personal … Continue Reading
The mattress business is a competitive one! Trade-marks in the mattress business are valuable! Sleep Country Canada Inc. is a major mattress retailer in Canada. It is best known for its slogan “Why Buy a Mattress Anywhere Else?”. It owns two Canadian trade-mark registrations for this slogan. This trade-mark, together with its accompanying musical jingle, … Continue Reading
Bottom Line: The Supreme Court’s decision sets the bar higher for design patent holders to recover for infringement and opens the door to apportionment of damages. Parties looking to file for design patents will likely consider claiming their patents more broadly, in order to avoid the specter of reduced damages in the event the design … Continue Reading
On January 3, 2017, in Paramount Pictures Corp. v. Axanar Productions, Inc. et al., a United States District Court held that Axanar could not rely on a fair use defense during the upcoming trial over whether Axanar infringed Paramount’s copyright in the popular Star Trek television and motion picture franchise. Axanar has an existing twenty-one … Continue Reading
On December 6, the Supreme Court reversed Apple’s $399 million patent infringement verdict against Samsung. The decision – the first from the Supreme Court to interpret design patent damages since 1886 – arguably raises more questions than it answers. In a series of widely-publicized cases around the globe, Apple and Samsung have been battling over … Continue Reading
Among the last few lines of Led Zeppelin’s rock ballad Stairway to Heaven are the lyrics “And if you listen very hard/The tune will come to you at last./When all are one and one is all…” Spirit guitarist Randy Wolfe brought suit against Led Zeppelin for copyright infringement, apparently thinking that one did not even … Continue Reading
Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment Partnership (“MLSE”), the parent company of the National Hockey League’s Toronto Maple Leafs, has requested an extension of time to oppose a U.S. trade-mark application filed by one Calvin Broadus – better known as Snoop Dogg (“Snoop”) – for a logo featuring the words LEAFS BY SNOOP on a leaf-shaped … Continue Reading
Many states recognize a “right of publicity,” which prohibits the commercial use of an individual’s name, likeness, or identity without consent. When aspects of a well-known person’s identity are incorporated into an expressive work, however, what emerges is a tension between the individual’s right of publicity and the artist’s freedom of expression as protected by … Continue Reading
During the life of a franchise system, franchisees are often the source of new product and service offering ideas. Franchisors often find that some of the best-selling products are created by franchisees. For example, some of the most popular sandwiches (including the Big Mac, Filet-o-Fish, and Egg McMuffin) at McDonald’s were created by franchisees. Indeed, … Continue Reading
The recent Federal Court of Australia decision in Skyy Spririts LLC v Lodestar Anstalt [2015] FCA 509 serves as a reminder that Australian registered trade marks are vulnerable to removal on the basis of non-use if licensing and structuring arrangements are not adequate. Under the Australian Trade Marks Act 1995 (Cth) a trade mark may, … Continue Reading
A recent decision of the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit (M.Z. Berger & Co, Inc., v. Swatch AG [2015] Fed. Cir.) has clarified the standards applicable to determining whether an applicant relying on an “intent-to-use” basis had the required “bona fide intention” to use the mark in commerce when the application … Continue Reading
Do you remember the song “September” ? Do you also remember the band behind the song? Yes… it is the famous US band EARTH WIND & FIRE. Why I am asking this? Thanks to the IP team of the Austrian law firm Brauneis Klauser Prändl (bkp) led by Martin Reinisch, this band just achieved a … Continue Reading
