Tag Archives: trademark

No mark, no false designation of origin is still the rule in NY

Posted on April 6, 2016 by rtushnet

Innovation Ventures, LLC v. Ultimate One Distributing Corp., 2016 WL 1317524, No. 12-CV-5354 (E.D.N.Y. Mar. 31, 2016)   The Fourth Circuit’s Belmora decision did more than create protection for foreign marks in the US; it created a conflict with a … Continue reading →

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Smokeless, no fire: tobacco advertising & TM claims dismissed

Posted on March 29, 2016 by rtushnet

VMR Products, LLC v. V2H ApS, 2016 WL 1177834, No. 2:13–cv–7719 (C.D. Cal. Mar. 18, 2016)   VMR makes electronic cigarettes under the federally registered trademarks V2CIGS and V2. V2H ApS is a Danish tobacco company that makes a smokeless … Continue reading →

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Foreign marks may be protected in the US under 43(a), Fourth Circuit rules

Posted on March 25, 2016 by rtushnet

Belmora LLC v. Bayer Consumer Care AG, No. 15-1335 (4th Cir. Mar. 23, 2016)   Disclosure: I worked on the brief for Belmora, the loser in this appeal.    Bayer (BCC) registered FLANAX in Mexico for pharmaceutical products, analgesics, and … Continue reading →

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Inconclusive investigation isn’t enough to give knowledge for contributory TM infringement purposes

Posted on March 23, 2016 by rtushnet

Spy Phone Labs LLC v. Google Inc., No. 15-cv-03756-PSG, 2016 BL 86393 (N.D. Cal. Mar. 21, 2016)   SPL registered Spy Phone as a mark (for something, I presume), and submitted its Android app, SPY PHONE Phone Tracker, to Google.  … Continue reading →

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Another poster child for a national anti-SLAPP law: dilution claims against a critic

Posted on March 23, 2016 by rtushnet

Doctor’s Data, Inc. v. Barrett, 2016 WL 1086510, No. 10 C 03795 (N.D. Ill. Mar. 21, 2016)   Plaintiff DDI sued Dr. Stephen J. Barrett, M.D., the National Council Against Health Fraud, and Quackwatch for violating §43, as well as … Continue reading →

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One Haas impersonating another is TM infringement, false advertising

Posted on March 21, 2016 by rtushnet

Haas Door Co. v. Haas Garage Door Co., No. 3:13 CV 2507, 2016 WL 1047242 (N.D. Ohio Mar. 16, 2016)   A family-owned business split, and split a trademark, and then things went bad.   Founded in 1953, Haas Door … Continue reading →

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Porn site’s use of TMs in metatags not confusing

Posted on March 21, 2016 by rtushnet

Multifab, Inc. v. ArlanaGreen.com, 122 F. Supp. 3d 1055 (E.D. Wash. 2015)   Plaintiff made commercial industrial components and equipment, and used the name “Multifab” for at least 25 years.  It has the multifabinc.com domain name. ArlanaGreen.com features pornographic images … Continue reading →

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I don’t go into yours, you don’t go into mine: copyright preempts Dirty Dancing trademark claim

Posted on March 15, 2016 by rtushnet

I don’t go into yours, you don’t go into mine: copyright preempts Dirty Dancing trademark claim   Lions Gate Ent. Inc. v. TD Ameritrade Servs. Co., No. cv 15-05024  (C.D. Cal. Mar. 14, 2016)   Lions Gate sued TD for … Continue reading →

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Reading list: dilution fails an empirical test

Posted on March 14, 2016 by rtushnet

Christo Boshoff , The lady doth protest too much: a neurophysiological perspective on brand tarnishment, 25 J. Product & Brand Management (2016):   [C]onsumers’ emotional responses to a series of brand tarnishment advertisements are investigated in this study. The purpose … Continue reading →

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Private Law and IP: Licensing I

Posted on March 11, 2016 by rtushnet

Session 3: Licensing I Moderator: Yonathan Arbel Jonathan M. Barnett, “Why is Everyone Afraid of IP Licensing?”: Conventional view—be wary of encroachment on public domain from licensing transactions.  Medley of limitations lay minefield for construction of transactions w/minimum legal risk.  … Continue reading →

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