It turns out that SpongeBob Squarepants is more than just an absorbent, yellow and porous cartoon character who lives in a pineapple under the sea. He can also teach us an important lesson about trademark licensing and liability. Nautical nonsense, you say? Read on about…
In another episode involving the First Amendment and the Lanham Act, Twentieth Century Fox’s “Empire” notched a win for the First Amendment. In Twentieth Century Fox Television, et al. v. Empire Distribution Inc. the United States District Court for the Central District of California held that…
In a recent post, we provided guidance on how an advertiser might execute a Super Bowl-related promotion even if it is not an authorized game sponsor. First, avoid mentioning the trademarked name of the event — instead, refer more generally to the “Big Game” or…
A recent decision in federal court in New York serves both as a cautionary tale to companies looking to defend their trademarks and an important reminder to any company about to launch a new product under threat of an infringement claim. Authored by Judge Jed…
On January 28, 2016, Dorsey & Whitney’s Seattle office hosted a CLE panel discussion regarding In Re Simon Shiao Tam, the Federal Circuit decision holding that the “disparaging” trademark prohibition in Section 2(a) of the Lanham Act violated the First Amendment. The panel featured Simon…
With Super Bowl 50 quickly approaching, it’s a perfect excuse to check in on one of the IP issues that made big waves at last year’s “Big Game.” You may recall that the Super Bowl halftime show last year featured Katy Perry crooning on a…
Every year at this time clients call who want to take advantage of Super Bowl frenzy, whether by running an online sweepstakes, offering a special deal to customers on Super Sunday, posting memes on their Facebook pages, sending out tweets in support of their favorite team…
A recent district court decision granting a preliminary injunction in The Brooklyn Brewery Corp. v. Black Ops Brewing, Inc. demonstrates the advantage of owning a federal trademark registration when products bearing the registered mark are not sold nationwide. The case, which arose in federal court for…
In a recent post, we discussed the trademark parody defense in the context of a California district court decision holding that the owner of the Superman “S” logo had adequately stated infringement claims asserted against a “DAD” t-shirt with a shield design allegedly parodying the…
Various media outlets were abuzz recently about how Marshawn Lynch received a federal trademark registration for “I’m Just Here So I Won’t Get Fined” for t-shirts and other apparel items. He uttered that phrase more than 20 times at a press conference before last year’s…
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...