Ninth Circuit: Trademark claim against tribal corporation does not confer tribal court jurisdiction In a recent decision, the Ninth Circuit reversed a district court's grant of a motion to stay federal trademark claims against Indian tribal defendants pending a determination of jurisdiction by a tribal court. The trademark claims were for alleged passing off of cigarettes on the Internet, on the reservation of another tribe, and elsewhere. The […] Continue Reading →
Ninth Circuit: Copyright owner’s ambiguous reservation of rights clarified with extrinsic evidence In a recent decision, the Ninth Circuit reversed a district court's grant of summary judgment that a copyright holder did not have standing to sue for copyright, trademark, unfair competition, and related declaratory judgment claims. The case involved the film Gone in 60 Seconds, produced and directed in 1974 by H.B. "Toby" Halicki, and remade […] Continue Reading →
Ninth Circuit: Trademark claim over use in video game stripped away by First Amendment In a decision Wednesday, the Ninth Circuit affirmed a district court's grant of summary judgment that the producer of Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas had a First Amendment defense against a claim of trademark infringement. The plaintiff owns a strip club known as the "Play Pen" on the eastern edge of downtown Los Angeles. Grand […] Continue Reading →
Eleventh Circuit: Website in Tennessee using Floridian’s trademark sufficient for jurisdiction In a decision last week, the Eleventh Circuit reversed a district court's dismissal of a trademark infringement case for lack of personal jurisdiction. The district court held that the allegedly infringing conduct, operating a website, was insufficient to warrant jurisdiction in the plaintiff's home state of Florida. Here, the plaintiff was an individual, and the […] Continue Reading →
USPTO announces trademark consistency pilot program In a notice today, the USPTO announced a new trademark consistency initiative. Under the new initiative, applicants who believe a substantive or procedural issue has been addressed in a "significantly different manner" in two applications may raise the issue for consistency review. This is subject to four requirements: the request is based on co-pending applications […] Continue Reading →
Second Circuit: MLB collective trademark licensing does not violate Sherman Act In a recent decision, the Second Circuit affirmed a district court's summary judgment to the defendant in an antitrust case regarding trademark licensing. The case involved the collective licensing setup of Major League Baseball Properties ("MLBP"). The plaintiff was a licensee of MLBP. The court held the centralized licensing agent for all Major League Baseball […] Continue Reading →
Second Circuit: If you want a court to order the USPTO, ask in your pleadings, not after you win In a recent decision, the Second Circuit affirmed a district court's decision in a trademark case not to enter an order pursuant to 15 U.S.C. § 1119. § 1119 permits a court to enter an order regarding registrability and cancellation of marks at the USPTO. The prevailing defendant asked the district court to order the […] Continue Reading →
Seventh Circuit reverses trademark damages award in default judgment because wrong standard applied The Seventh Circuit recently reversed the amount of damages in a district court's entry of default judgment in a trademark infringement dispute. At issue was whether the Plaintiff was entitled to additional relief on the grounds that the district court applied the wrong standard to its claim for an accounting of profits. The district court […] Continue Reading →
Seventh Circuit: Several likelihood of confusion factors favored plaintiff, no summary judgment The Seventh Circuit recently reversed a district court's summary judgment for the defendant in a trademark infringement case. The district court held no reasonable fact finder could find the marks likely to be confused.On appeal, the Seventh Circuit reminded us that the test for likelihood of confusion is not simply whether consumers will confuse two […] Continue Reading →
Tenth Circuit: District court’s internally inconsistent findings lead to remand In a decision last week, the Tenth Circuit reversed a district court's ruling of no trademark infringement. The district court, applying the Tenth Circuit's six likelihood of confusion factors, initially stated that three factors favored the plaintiffs, two were neutral, and one favored the defendants, but in its conclusion, stated that only one factor favored […] Continue Reading →