Tag Archives: trademark

No PI where individual defendant has left allegedly trademark-infringing role

Posted on September 21, 2021 by rtushnet

Nigerians in Diaspora Organization Americas v. Key, 2021 WL 811094, No. 19-3015 (RDM) (D.D.C. Mar. 3, 2021) “NIDOA is a continental nonprofit organization that advocates for the interests of Nigerians in the Western Hemisphere.”  It alleged that, under the continental … Continue reading →

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TM infringement and false advertising claims related to putative open source software “fork” succeed

Posted on September 16, 2021 by rtushnet

Neo4j, Inc. v. PureThink, LLC, 2021 WL 2483778, No. 5:18-cv-07182-EJD (N.D. Cal. May 18, 2021) Neo4j specializes in graph database management systems. “Neo4j USA’s platform helps organizations make sense of their data by revealing how people, processes and digital systems … Continue reading →

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student social media use of school colors/logo not plausibly confusing

Posted on September 14, 2021 by rtushnet

Arizona Board of Regents v. Doe, 2021 WL 3684116, No. CV-20-01638-PHX-DWL (D. Ariz. Aug. 18, 2021) Doe, a real asshole (“deeply unsympathetic,” to use the court’s terms), advertised “ASU Covid Parties” on a similarly-named Instagram account and spewed a lot … Continue reading →

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Reading list: The Confusion Test in European Trade Mark Law

Posted on September 13, 2021 by rtushnet

Ilanah Fhima & Dev S. Gangjee, The Confusion Test in European Trade Mark Law (2019) A very helpful overview. From a US perspective, offers real insights into how a system of registration primacy differs from a system of use primacy. … Continue reading →

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IIC decision also says some things about false advertising: materiality may not be presumed from literal falsity

Posted on September 9, 2021 by rtushnet

Select Comfort Corp. v. Baxter; 996 F.3d 925 (8th Cir. 2021) You probably know that the court of appeals sent this case back for retrial on an initial interest confusion theory. I won’t say much about that, though I do … Continue reading →

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organic protein is generic, but trade dress comes to the rescue

Posted on September 8, 2021 by rtushnet

Orgain, Inc. v. Northern Innovations Holding Corp., 2021 WL 1321653, No. 8:18-cv-01253-JLS-ADS (C.D. Cal. Mar. 22, 2021) The parties compete in the market for nutritional supplements. Orgain alleged that defendants infringed its trade dress in selling a competing plant-based nutritional … Continue reading →

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lawyer doesn’t make use in commerce by negotiating for client

Posted on September 7, 2021 by rtushnet

Big Ligas, LLC v. Yu, 2021 WL 1518993, No. 20-23719-Civ-Scola (S.D. Fla. Apr. 16, 2021) Big Ligas is owned by three members equally: Daniel Echavarria, also known as Ovy; Christian Andres Salazar; and Paulo Londra. Ovy and Salazar are the … Continue reading →

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There’s no such thing as “leasing real estate in violation of the Lanham Act”

Posted on September 7, 2021 by rtushnet

Wakefern Food Corp. v. Marchese, 2021 WL 3783259, No. 2:20-cv-15949-WJM-MF (D.N.J. Aug. 26, 2021) Always something new in trademark! Wakefern, the largest retailer-owned supermarket coop in the US, sued Marchese for attempting “to lease commercial real estate in violation of … Continue reading →

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Amazon pulls further ahead of possible competitors in TM secondary liability wars

Posted on September 3, 2021 by rtushnet

Ohio State Univ. v. Redbubble, Inc., No. 19-3388 (6th Cir. Feb. 25, 2021) “Because Amazon’s marketplace operates as a neutral intermediary between consumers and third-party vendors, courts have typically not found it liable for trademark-infringing goods sold through its platform.” … Continue reading →

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Rogers test protects name of online news publication

Posted on September 2, 2021 by rtushnet

Punchbowl, Inc. v. AJ Press LLC, — F.Supp.3d —-, 2021 WL 3356848, No. 21-cv-03010-SVW-MAR (C.D. Cal. Jul. 16, 2021) This Rogers case about the name of an online publication involves a motion to dismiss that was converted to a motion … Continue reading →

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