By Olivier A. Taillieu and Thomas F. Zuber of Zuber & Taillieu LLP
The Federal Circuit Court affirmed a TTAB decision finding that Mattel successfully rebutted the presumption that it had abandoned a mark it had acquired from Tyco but had not used for at least three years. In Crash Dummy Movie, LLC v. Mattel, Inc., 601 F.3d 1387 (Fed. Cir. 2010), Mattel… More...
In E.S.S. Entertainment 2000, Inc. v. Rock Star Videos, Inc., 547 F.3d 1095 (9th Cir. 2008), the 9th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals confirmed that when trademark rights clash with the First Amendment, the First Amendment usually wins – at least in cases involving artistic or creative endeavors. More...
In its significant opinion in Tiffany v. eBay, ___ F. Supp. 2d ___, 2008 WL 2755787 (No. 04 Civ. 4607) (S.D.N.Y. , July 14, 2008) the Southern District of New York rejected an effort by renowned jeweler Tiffany to expand the reach of contributory trademark infringement. Tiffany’s theory of More...
Robert Burck, a.k.a. The Naked Cowboy, an iconic street performer in Times Square, had the foresight to trademark his name and image. When the Mars company developed an ad campaign depicting its famous M&M candies in and around New York City, they chose to dress up one of the candies as The Naked More...
When clothing designer Joseph Abboud had a falling out with the new management of JA Apparel, the clothing company he had founded, he tried to start a competing clothing line called “jaz.” He planned to use his name in jaz promotions, identifying himself as the designer of the new line. One More...
The case Louis Vuitton Malletier v. Haute Diggity Dog, 507 F.3d 252 (4th Cir. 2007) was the first case an appellate court heard under the Trademark Dilution Revision Act of 2006 (TDRA). Though the TDRA generally favors companies like Louis Vuitton that try to protect their famous trademarks from More...
Component parts manufacturers will want to pay attention to this case. In Custom Mfrg. V. Midway et al, 508 F.3d 641 (2007), the 11th Circuit found that when there is minimal likelihood that a potential customer will see the allegedly infringing product, there is no likelihood of confusion, and More...
Plaintiff Pebble Beach Company owned and operated a golf course resort in California. Defendant operated a small-business in southern England and ran a passive website located at www.pebblebeach-uk.com. Plaintiff sued for trademark dilution in the district court in California. The defendant moved More...
