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An Evil Bear May Provide High Court TM Ruling Clarification
The US Supreme Court’s recent ruling in Jack Daniel's v. VIP Products leaves unanswered questions about the intersection of the First Amendment and trademark rights, which may be answered by the reconsideration of a dismissed case involving Disney and Lotso the bear from "Toy Story 3."
Warhol Decision May Lead to Copyright Licensing Spike
Artists beware—it’s not how hard you work but how differently you use the art that really matters. In the majority decision that governs, and as such, artists and copyright owners must now keep in the forefront of their minds the potential future uses of a work when evaluating whether the new creation is fair use or unlawfully derivative.
Federal Circuit Boots Potential Circuit Split as Trademark Case Turns Ugg-ly for Australian Boot-Maker
It’s hard to deny the comfort of the plush, fur-lined boots and slippers sold under the UGG® brand. But not many are aware that the word “ugg” originated in Australia as a generic term for sheepskin boots. The term, which...
A Picture Is Worth a Thousand Words—and Maybe a Thousand Bucks Too, According to the NCAA
The NCAA has implemented a blockbuster temporary policy allowing college athletes to be paid for the use of their name, image, and likeness (NIL). This reversal of the NCAA’s long-standing ban against compensation to college athletes opens up new opportunities...
USPTO Extends Trademark And Patent Deadlines Due to Coronavirus Pandemic
As IP Offices around the world work to mitigate the impact of the global health threat, the U.S. CARES Act gives USPTO authority to extend statutory deadlines to help ease burden of IP owners affected by COVID-19 The Coronavirus Aid...
Broad U.S. Discovery Now Available in Foreign Arbitrations
In a decision that may significantly increase access to domestic discovery in foreign arbitration proceedings, the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit ruled on September 19 that courts may order individuals and entities within the United States...
Supreme Court Strikes Down Ban on Scandalous, Immoral Trademarks
Brace yourselves – scandalous trademarks are coming! Today, in Iancu v. Brunetti , No. 18-302 (June 24, 2019), the Supreme Court struck down a provision of trademark law that bans the registration of immoral or scandalous words or symbols. In...
Supreme Court: Trademark Licenses Survive Bankruptcy Rejection
In an 8-1 decision, the Supreme Court settled a long-standing circuit split regarding the impact of bankruptcy filings on trademark licenses. Until May 20th, brand owners in some jurisdictions could use bankruptcy protections to terminate the rights of third parties...
The First Day of the Rest of Our Lives? GDPR Activist Complaints Allege Shortcomings and Seek Maximum Penalties
This is not an email about what the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) is. We assume you've received dozens of those recently (including from us) . As those emails promised, GDPR Day 1 finally came. And it began with a...
Partes On! Survival of Inter Partes Review May Signal an SOS for Parties Entering the Uncharted Waters of Inter Partes Review in the Post-SAS World
The Supreme Court issued decisions in the cases of Oil States v. Greene’s Energy and SAS v. Iancu , addressing the constitutionality of inter partes review (“IPR”) and determining whether the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (“PTAB”) must decide the...
TVEyes Inc. Crosses the Boundary of Fair Use Defense in Copyright Infringement Case Against Fox News Network, LLC
Plaintiff Fox News Network, LLC (“Fox”) brought a copyright infringement action against Defendant TVEyes, Inc. (“TVEyes”) for the copying and redistribution of Fox’s copyrighted content to consumers. On appeal, the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit held...
Willful Infringement: "If I could turn back time..."
Unlike Cher, the U.S. Supreme Court can turn back time. In Halo Electronics v. Pulse Electronics , 1 the Court unanimously upended the law on enhanced damages for willful patent infringement set forth in by the Federal Circuit in In...
Know Them Before They are Famous (or at least final): The Latest USPTO Proposed Rule Changes
On August 19, 2015, the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) released proposed rule changes for trials before the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB). The proposed rule changes were made in response to input solicited by the USPTO...
Federal Circuit Strengthens ITC's Authority to Police Importation
On August 10, 2015, the Federal Circuit, acting en banc , ruled that the International Trade Commission (ITC) has the authority to prevent importation of products based on claims for induced infringement where the predicate act of direct infringement occurs...
The Supreme Court's Limelight Continues to Rein in the Federal Circuit
For the second time in less than two months the Supreme Court unanimously redefines patent law by overturning a Federal Circuit case regarding induced infringement. 1 In Limelight Networks, Inc. v. Akamai Technologies, Inc. , the Supreme Court overturned an...