The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals recently held that an arbitrator did not exceed his powers when he expanded an eight-year license to use a video game’s trademarks into a perpetual license to use all the intellectual property rights associated with the game. See Timegate Studios, Inc. v. Southpeak Interactive, L.L.C., ___ F.3d ___, 2013
Category Archives: Trademarks
Subscribe to Trademarks RSS FeedHong Kong Website Can Continue Selling Alleged Counterfeit Fashion Apparel After Court Declines To Exercise Extraterritorial Jurisdiction Under Lanham Act
Posted in TrademarksA court in the Southern District of New York enjoined the defendants from selling fashion apparel in the United States that allegedly infringed the plaintiff’s trademarks, but it declined to exercise extraterritorial jurisdiction to stop the defendants from using their Hong Kong website to continue selling the same apparel to the rest of the world.
Court Orders Production of Defendant’s Entire Business Database in Contentious Trademark Infringement Case
Posted in Information Technology, TrademarksThough the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure are “not meant to create a routine right of direct access to a party’s electronic information system,” a federal district court recently held that the benefits of allowing the plaintiff direct access to the defendant’s entire business database outweighed the burden of producing it. [See Advanced Tactical Ordnance
Sixth Circuit Decides Trademark Rights In Dispute Arising After Two Asset Sales Involving An Unregistered Trademark
Posted in TrademarksStating that it “will not presume the creation of jointly owned or non-exclusively licensed trademark rights,” the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals recently held that an individual defendant and his company did not retain any ownership rights in an unregistered trademark his company had acquired in an asset sale and then transferred in another asset
IP Translator: The EU Trademark Case Decision’s Affect on Applications
Posted in TrademarksOn June 19, 2012, the Court of Justice of the European Union issued a decision in a trademark case where the applicant sought registration for IP TRANSLATOR, using a class heading of “educational services” to identify the services. Prior to this decision, an applicant for trademark protection in the European Union could use a class
HOW IS AN AUTOMILE LIKE A DUCK TOUR? THINK GENERIC.
Posted in Copyright, Intellectual Property, TrademarksCo-Authored By: Robert J. Morgan For those businesses that might be tempted to enjoin another’s use of a common name, be advised: you might be inviting unexpected grief. In a “where the rubber hits the road decision,” the Cuyahoga County (Ohio) Court of Appeals ruled recently in the case of Bedford Auto Dealers Ass’n v.
WAGO v. Rockwell; When is a Gerund not a Gerund; Pass on Twombly/Iqbal Mandate
Posted in TrademarksThink choice of grammar or poor word choice is not relevant in patent claims? Think again. Indifferent word selection nearly sunk this infringement action as well as the patent. Judge Christopher A. Boyko of the Northern District of Ohio recently tackled the difficult issue of patent indefiniteness following IPXL Holdings, L.L.C. v. Amazon. com, Inc., 430
Michael Jordan Shoots in China
Posted in TrademarksRemember to register transliterations as well as English versions of your trademarks in China and elsewhere. NBA legend Michael Jordan initiated a suit in China alleging the unauthorized use of his name by a Chinese sportswear and footwear manufacturer. Michael Jordan became a worldwide basketball star in the 1980s and 1990s. Qiaodan Sports Company Ltd.,
Starbucks Makes News with Logo and Mobile Payment Option
Posted in TrademarksWhen Starbucks recently announced a change to their iconic logo, I took interest not only as an attorney specializing in trademark and advertising law, but also as a fairly regular consumer of Starbucks coffee (and, I confess, a Starbucks "Gold Level" card holder). This article discusses issues pertinent to both and addresses some interesting theories
Opening of .co ccTLD Draws Interest as .com Typo Variant
Posted in Domain Names, Intellectual Property, TrademarksA country code top-level domain (ccTLD) is an Internet top-level domain generally used or reserved for a sovereign state or territory. There are currently over 270 such domain extensions— from the Ascension Island (.ac) to Zimbabwe (.zw)—delegated by the Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA). A number of the world’s countries have licensed their TLDs for