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…
Superman has triumphed yet again, this time with help from the federal court in the Central District of California. It wasn’t actually Superman that scored this particular victory, but DC Comics, owner of the trademark rights in Superman’s iconic shield design. On December 15, 2015,…
Bud Abbott and Lou Costello were a vaudeville comedic juggernaut. Among the duo’s many accomplishments during their heyday was the creation of “Who’s on First?” which is still widely considered one of the most famous comedy routines of all time. But the heirs of Abbott…
Last week, the FTC issued its long-awaited Enforcement Policy Statement on Deceptively Formatted Advertisements, often referred to as “native advertising.” For those unfamiliar with the term, the FTC helpfully explains that “native advertising” is advertising and promotional content designed to be integrated into — and…
A decision by the Bankruptcy Court for the District of New Hampshire is the latest of a handful of cases in the past few years to weigh in on a circuit split as to whether a licensor of trademark rights can fully terminate a licensing…
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit has just gone where no other court has gone before. In a tour-de-force judicial opinion, the Court emphatically held that a small sliver of the Lanham Act—the “disparaging trademark” provision in Section 2(a)—violates the First Amendment….
As the global nature of the economy and business grows, companies are faced with the challenge of determining when, whether and how to provide notice of trademark rights on product packaging and advertising materials. The laws governing use of notice symbols (or “marking”) and consequences…
It may come as a surprise that the answer to the above question is yes, or so a number of plaintiffs claim in lawsuits that have been filed recently in the U.S. More specifically, in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania,…
A recent federal district court decision involving the iconic STRATOTONE guitar brand, Agler v. Westheimer Corp. illustrates two important principles concerning the law of trademark abandonment: First, once a mark is deemed legally abandoned, it can be adopted by a third party unrelated to the legacy…
The USPTO recently launched a pilot program to allow amendments in limited circumstances to the identification of goods or services in existing trademark registrations, in order to account for changes in technology formats. The program provides new hope for the maintenance of trademark registrations for…
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...