Tag Archives: trademark

IPSC: Trademark Doctrine

Posted on August 9, 2019 by rtushnet

Jorge Contreras, University of Utah SJ Quinney College of Law Sui-Genericide 1940s: Proprietary Ass’n & AMA opposed foreign registrations of common drug names (ANTACID, VITAMIN, etc.). Late 40s-80s: DOC generic word program: words submitted by firms to INTA’s predecessor, then … Continue reading →

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on 12(b)(6), court holds that “blockchain” could be distinctive for one co’s digital wallets

Posted on August 9, 2019 by rtushnet

Blockchain Luxembourg S.A. v. Paymium, SAS, No. 18 Civ. 8612 (GBD) (S.D.N.Y. Aug. 7, 2019) The Second Circuit really doesn’t want to kick out trademark claims early.  I can easily imagine a court in the Seventh Circuit using the flexibility … Continue reading →

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Duck, duck, noninfringement: TM and (c) claims over distinct duck designs fail

Posted on July 23, 2019 by rtushnet

Great American Duck Races Inc. v. Kangaroo Mf’g Inc., No. CV-17-00212-PHX-ROS (D. Ariz. Jul. 19, 2019) Despite some bad reasoning equating intent to compete with (relevant) intent to confuse, the court rejects bad copyright and trademark claims based on the … Continue reading →

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Imaginative makeup color names as descriptive fair use

Posted on July 11, 2019 by rtushnet

Hard Candy, LLC v. Anastasia Beverly Hills, Inc., 921 F.3d 1343 (11th Cir. 2019) Hard Candy sued Anastasia, a competitor in the cosmetics industry, for infringement based on one of Anastasia’s “Glow Kits,” flip-open makeup palettes containing four different shades … Continue reading →

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The probiotic worm turns: previous PI loser wins $15 million in Lanham Act case

Posted on June 26, 2019 by rtushnet

De Simone v. VSL Pharmaceuticals, Inc., No. TDC-15-1356, 2019 WL 2569574 (D. Md. Jun. 20, 2019) Previous discussions.  The parties compete in offering a probiotic product; De Simone used to license his formulation to VSL, then went out on his … Continue reading →

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The Supreme Court and the Tone Argument (Iancu v. Brunetti)

Posted on June 25, 2019 by rtushnet

Iancu v. Brunetti, No. 18–302, 588 U.S. — (Jun. 24, 2019) Unlike in Tam, we get an opinion for the Court (and unanimity that the bar on registering “immoral” marks is unconstitutionally viewpoint-based), which manages to find consensus by (1) … Continue reading →

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Uncommon sense on the presumptions granted by registration

Posted on June 17, 2019 by rtushnet

Uncommon, LLC v. Spigen, Inc., No. 18-1917 (7th Cir. Jun. 11, 2019) The PTO has sometimes found “capsule” merely descriptive of cellphone cases, but it also allowed Uncommon to register CAPSULE for such cases in 2013.   (A prior registration for … Continue reading →

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A Celebration of the Work of Wendy Gordon, part 2

Posted on June 14, 2019 by rtushnet

Harmless Free Riding by Wendy Gordon, Boston University School of Law  (Additional related drafts from Wendy: Time and Intellectual Property After Coaseand Proximate Cause in the Law of Copyright: Linking Liability to Incentives) Common law imposes penalties on those who harm much more readily than … Continue reading →

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photo of competitor’s product not false where it’s indistinguishable; also some design patent functionality

Posted on June 13, 2019 by rtushnet

Tactical Medical Solutions, Inc. v. KARL 2019 WL 2435859, No. 14 C 06035 (N.D. Ill. Jun. 11, 2019) TMS sued Karl and his sole proprietorship, EMI, for infringement of TMS’s design and utility patents by selling a “knockoff” version of … Continue reading →

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Amicus brief in video game/trademark case

Posted on June 10, 2019 by rtushnet

With the help of Phil Malone and Alyssa Picard at Stanford’s IP clinic, I and others submitted a law professors’ brief in this case involving Activision’s use of Humvees in depictions of military operations in the Call of Duty games.  AMG … Continue reading →

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