The parodist could not rely on First Amendment protection because it used the famous sneakers as a source identifier. The maker of a sneaker that parodied a famous brand of skateboard-friendly kicks was not entitled to First Amendment protection against a claim of trademark infringement because it used the trade dress of the original as…
The marks are generic both as to “Carnival” and the geographic locations “St Thomas” and “Virgin Islands.” The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit affirmed a lower court decision denying the Virgin Island Carnival Committee (“VICC”) preliminary injunction to enjoin the Virgin Island Department of Tourism from using the phrases “St. Thomas Carnival”…
If the third-party marks and opposer’s marks are identical, the opposer’s marks and the applicant’s marks are compared to see if they are identical or non-identical for identical goods or services. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit affirmed in part and vacated in part a decision by the Trademark Trial and Appeal…
The trade dress of a wedge-shaped candy, colored to resemble a slice of watermelon, was determined to be functional and not eligible for protection under federal trademark law. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit upheld a summary judgment decision by a New Jersey district court, ruling that a candy maker could not…
It is understandable why (most) trademarks owners do not like the five-year dependency period of an international registration since in case of “central attack” or refusal of the basic application, they face cancellation of their international registration. However, it’s less understandable why the judges of the EU General Court (GC) do not like it, unless…
The district court failed to analyze the appropriate preliminary injunction factors on a motion to enforce a settlement agreement with factual disputes. In a trademark dispute over the “GTRACING” mark for video game chairs between two Asian-centered businesses, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit has lifted an injunction on a motion to…
The court found that the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board’s (TTAB) decision was supported by substantial evidence. A real estate brokerage’s proposed mark was likely to be confused with a prior registration, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit has held. The TTAB’s prior analysis as to each of the DuPont factors was supported by…
A long legal battle over the status of “the greatest of all cheeses,” comes to an apparent end. A federal court in Virginia correctly relied on standards of identity written by the Food and Drug Administration to conclude that the word GRUYERE was not entitled to geographical trademark protection, the U.S. Court of Appeals for…
The Chinese company acted with the requisite bad faith under the ACPA when it bought and re-registered the domain name, which was identical to several registered trademarks owned by the insurance and financial services giant. A Chinese Internet company that distributes financial and economic information to Chinese consumers had the bad faith intent to profit…
District court failed to draw inferences in favor of nonmoving party in finding no likelihood of confusion. The federal district court in Miami erred in awarding summary judgment for a title insurance company regarding its use of the mark ‘FOREMOST,’ the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit has held. The Eleventh Circuit found…
