A trademark registration for the shape of a product (usually in the form of a drawing or 3D illustration) can be useful, particularly where the product is recognised predominantly by its distinctive visual appearance. However, if that shape or appearance is also essential for achieving…
A recent decision by the United States Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit highlights the perils of delay in filing a motion for a preliminary injunction in a trademark infringement case. In Wreal, LLC v. Amazon.com, Inc. (11th Cir. Oct. 28, 2016), the appellate court affirmed…
In the immortal words of the most recent Nobel Laureate in literature, “the times they are a changin.’” Section 35(a) of the Lanham Act provides that “[t]he court in exceptional cases may award reasonable attorney fees to the prevailing party.” Until just last week, the…
Judge Rakoff is back at it in Classic Liquor Importers, Ltd. v. Spirits International, B.V. We previously blogged about the dangers inherent in sending a cease and desist letter without the concurrent appetite for litigation, a post that was prompted by Judge Rakoff’s denial of defendant…
On June 22, 2016, the South Texas College of Law announced that it was changing its name to Houston College of Law. This seems like a natural choice, as the school is based in Houston and is a stand-alone institution not affiliated with a university. …
The potential defensive value of a registration on the Supplemental Register is highlighted in a recent opinion of the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board, In re Morinaga Nyugyo Kabushiki Kaisha. While we often think of trademarks on the Supplemental Register as less valuable and “junior” in…
Simon Tam and The Slants now have a gig at the biggest judicial venue in the country: The U.S. Supreme Court. On September 29, 2016, the Court decided it will take the case of Lee v. Tam. At issue in the case is whether Mr….
In a previous post, we discussed Louis Vuitton’s unsuccessful lawsuit against My Other Bag, Inc., in which the “parody defense” was a key issue. Louis Vuitton is making trademark law news again – this time as a defendant/counterclaim plaintiff in a trademark infringement suit in…
After visiting Rio to experience the Olympic Games a few weeks ago, I still feel like a winner. One athlete who won big in Rio was Usain Bolt, who took home three medals in three Track and Field events during the Games this year. Over…
While all the world might be a stage, the famous U.K. fashion house Burberry Limited has now established that none of its players – except Burberry – has the right in the U.S. to use the famous Burberry trademark as a stage name. That’s the…
Jeffrey CadwellJeff advises clients on the availability, registrability, and stre...
Michael KeyesJ. Michael Keyes is an intellectual property attorney with exten...
Kaleb McNeelyAs a partner in the Trial Group, Kaleb practices primarily in the ...
Sarah RobertsonSarah has over fifteen years’ experience helping clients prot...
Fara SunderjiFara assists clients in the development and execution of all type...
Charlene KroghCharlene Krogh is a Partner in Dorsey’s top-ranked Tradem...
Evan EveristEvan is a partner in Dorsey’s Trademark, Copyright and Adverti...