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Hank Rearden – Trademark rights to a fictional company and character
In Rearden LLC v. Rearden Commerce, Inc., 683 F.3d 1190 (9th Cir. 2012), two companies, both inspired by the Hank Rearden character in Ayn Rand’s novel, Atlas Shrugged, fought over the right to use
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Maker’s Mark Locks Up Dripping Red Wax as a Trade Dress for Alcohol
In Maker’s Mark Distillery, Inc. v. Diageo North America, Inc., ___ F.3d. ___ (6th Cir. 2012), Marker’s Mark sued Jose Cuervo for trade dress infringement for including a red wax seal on its Reserva
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National Chamber Servicemark Found Descriptive… of National Chamber of Commerce Services
The United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit in the case In Re Chamber of Commerce, 675 F.3d 1297, 102 U.S.P.Q.2d 1217 (Fed Cir. 2012) upheld a Trademark Trial and Appeal Board
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Where the Rubber Meets the Road: Tire Trademarks
The Federal Circuit in Bridgestone v. Federal Corp., 10-01376, 2012 BL 61825 (Fed. Cir. Mar. 16, 2012) found Federal’s mark MILANZA for tires likely to be confused with Bridgestone’s marks for POTENZA and TURANZA
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How do you Pronounce Gallo?
Ernest Gallo and Julio Gallo founded their famous winery in 1933. Their Gallo wine (pronounced gal-lo) is well-known all over the United States. Cerveza Gallo (pronounced gai-yo, i.e. the Spanish word for rooster) is
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Does the service mark Brewskee-Ball infringe the trademark Skee-Ball?
Skee-Ball, Inc. the owner of the Skee-Ball brand of games — popular at amusement arcades for more than 100 years — filed a trademark lawsuit against Full Circle United (“Full Circle”), a company that
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Eating Popcorn Naked – a Trademarked Way to Snack
Does NAKED POPCORN infringe HALF NAKED POPCORN? Good Health Natural Products, Inc. (“Good Health”) the makers of Half Naked Popcorn think so. Good Health has sued The Mediterranean Snack Food Company, LLC (“Mediterranean Snack
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Directional Arrow or Trademark Infringment? In-N-Out Burgers v. Pappas Burger
On November 15, 2011, In-N-Out Burger sued the Houston franchise Pappas Burger for trademark infringement in a Texas federal court. The complaint claims that the Pappas Burger’s sign in the Houston airport (pictured below)
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If You Don’t Use Your Bling You Lose Your Bling
In a fierce bling battle, a federal court in New York has held that a trademark owner lost its rights in a registered trademark because it was not making sufficient use of the mark
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Facebook “Like” Trademark Applications in Thumb War with TiVo and Searchteq, Blocked by “iLike”
On April 21, 2010 Facebook filed fourteen applications with the United States Patent and Trademark Office trying to corner the word mark “like” as well as the stylized version of the mark with the
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