The maker of Gibson-brand guitars could not go forward with claims that media conglomerate Viacom International secondarily infringed trademarks related to Gibson’s “Flying V” design by selling a ukulele with a V-shaped body and bearing Viacom’s “SpongeBob SquarePants” and Nickelodeon trademarks, the U.S. Court of Appeals in San Francisco has held (Gibson Brands, Inc. v….

The U.S. Court of Appeals in Atlanta affirmed a district court’s finding that Vito Antonio Laera violated a contempt order issued in a previous trademark infringement dispute with Blanco GmbH + Co. KG (Blanco GmbH + Co. KG v. Vlanco Industries, LLC, February 4, 2016, per curiam). A full summary of this case has been…