A federal district court has eliminated a cannabis company’s affirmative defense to federal trademark infringement claims based on the company’s prior use of a trademark that was legal under state law but not federal law. The Court concluded that, although use of the mark may continue reading...
I used to love pocket watches. My Wyatt Earp Halloween costume was not complete until I had a gold pocket watch hanging from my black vest. It’s no surprise then that reading the court’s decision on a motion for summary judgment in Hamilton Int’l Ltd. continue reading...
A dispute over the trademark KIVA involving use of the mark with health food and cannabis continues to smolder in the Northern District of California. In late 2018, Kiva Health Brands (a national health food and supplements company) sued Kiva Brands (a company selling cannabis-infused continue reading...
In the music world, performance rights organizations (“PROs”) serve an intermediary function between songwriters and music publishers and third parties who perform the protected works publicly. Among the largest PROs in the United States are the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (“ASCAP”), Broadcast continue reading...
In a dispute between two fruit product manufacturers concerning whether the phrase “Fruit is Our 1st Ingredient” is protectable as a trademark the parties initially litigated the application of the “first-to-file” rule where an anticipatory declaratory judgment suit is filed to achieve a jurisdictional advantage over continue reading...
On November 6, 2019, I discussed a licensing dispute regarding Ms. Pac-Man between Bandai Namco and AtGames Holdings. At that time, Bandai Namco sought a preliminary injunction against AtGames based on AtGames’ alleged unauthorized infringement of Bandai Namco’s IP rights in Ms. Pac-Man. AtGames countered continue reading...
Last Friday, the U.S. Supreme Court granted the USPTO’s writ of certiorari to review traveling website company Booking.com’s trademark application for “booking.com”. The TMCA previously covered developments in this case here and here. Back in 2016, the USPTO rejected the company’s trademark application because the continue reading...
1980 was a momentous year. Not only was it the year in which the Rubik’s Cube was first released, it was also when approximately 350 million people worldwide finally learned who shot J.R. on TV’s “Dallas” (spoiler alert: it was Kristin Shepard, J.R.’s angry mistress, continue reading...
It is no secret about the proliferation of copyright lawsuits that have been filed over the past four years over the unauthorized use of photos online, many against media companies that seek to shield themselves from liability with a fair use defense. A large number continue reading...
Two recent decisions from the Western District of North Carolina in Winestore Holdings LLC v. Justin Vineyards & Winery LLC provide a tasting of the requirements for bringing a declaratory judgment action for non-infringement of a trademark in federal court. The Court in Winestore held continue reading...
Sandra EdelmanSandy's practice focuses on trademarks and unfair competit...
Stefan SzpajdaStefan is an attorney in the firm’s Trial Group, focusin...
Fara SunderjiFara assists clients in the development and execution of all type...
Charlene KroghCharlene Krogh is a Partner in Dorsey’s top-ranked Tradem...