There was no evidence that the firm’s marks achieved secondary meaning, and the same marks were being used as trademarks as well as service marks in the advertising space. Plaintiffs and Appellants Engage Healthcare Communications, L.L.C., Greenhill Healthcare Communications, L.L.C. and Center of Excellence Media, L.L.C. (“Engage”) lost their appeal of an order granting summary…
The attorney was unable to show that the USPTO’s decision was arbitrary or capricious. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit affirmed a decision to dismiss an attorney’s challenge of his bar license suspension as the attorney’s procedural and substantive challenges to the United States Patent and Trademark Office’s disciplinary proceeding were rejected…
We had reported on the introduction in Greece of mandatory mediation in trademark infringement disputes in this blog here and here. Law no 4640/2019 “Mediation on civil and commercial disputes – Further harmonization of Greek legislation with Directive 2008/52/EC of the European parliament and of the council of 21 May 2008 and other provisions” (the…
Because the contract did not give a popcorn manufacturer a perpetual license to sell popcorn under the Mrs. Fields trademark, the manufacturer should not have been granted a preliminary injunction ordering Mrs. Fields to comply with the contract terms. A popcorn manufacturer did not establish a strong likelihood that it will prevail on its claim…
As we all know, the EUTM Regulation 2017/1001 now requires the applicant to indicate the goods and services for which the protection of the trademark is sought with sufficient clarity and precision to enable the competent authorities and economic operators, on that sole basis, to determine the extent of the protection sought. But what if…
The New York Oneidas lacked standing to challenge the Interior Department’s approval of the Wisconsin Oneidas’ request to change its name to “Oneida Nation,” despite the Wisconsin tribe’s initiation of USPTO trademark cancellation proceedings against the New York tribe. Following the initiation of trademark cancellation proceedings brought before the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board by…
The Patent Office of Poland (PPO) and the World Intellectual Property Organisation Arbitration and Mediations Centre (WIPO) collaborate to raise awareness of Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) substitutes to court litigation to resolve IP and technology disputes in Poland. As a result, PPO and WIPO have established a common dispute resolution procedure to facilitate mediation in…
Bad faith is on the rise – whether in reality or as a useful weapon against trade marks is another question. Recently, both the General Court (GC) and the Court of Justice (CJEU) have had several opportunities to consider whether trade marks had been filed in bad faith. The tendency seems to become stricter and…
On 14th October 2019 the Italian authorities seized approximately 250 tubes of Prosecco and Pink Peppercorn flavoured Pringles crisps from supermarket chain Tosano in the Veneto region of Northeastern Italy. The ‘administrative seizure’ was ordered on the basis that the name Prosecco – which is protected as Designation of Origin (PDO) under EU Regulation 1308/2013 –…
The EU legislation does not provide for a definition of the concept of bad faith, but the EU case law in course of years has developed a number of criteria which offer guidance in assessing when a trademark was filed in bad faith. In the latest bad faith case, Koton Mağazacilik Tekstil Sanayi ve Ticaret AŞ…
