Fair Use »
Using Someone’s Slogan is Not Fair Use
As blogged about previously here, a motivational services business Own Your Power Communications owed by Simone Kelly-Brown sued Oprah Winfrey and several of her companies for producing numerous publications, events, and online content using
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Miller’s Ale House v. Carolina Ale House – Is copying a competitor’s name, décor, and layout fair competition or infringement?
Miller’s Ale House has approximately fifty locations primarily in Florida. Each location has a geographically determined name (e.g. a street, a town, a district) followed by the phrase Ale House. One location located in
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Oriental v. Cooperativa: How long is too long to wait to sue a trademark infringer?
Oriental Financial Group (“Oriental”) began using the mark COOP ORIENTAL in Puerto Rico in 1964. Two years later, in 1966, Cooperativa de Ahorro Y Crédito ORIENTAL (“Cooperativa”) began using the same COOP ORIENTAL mark
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When is Paris, not in France? In Re Miracle Tuesday
Miracle Tuesday, LLC filed an intent-to-use trademark application for the stylized mark JPK Paris 75 for sunglasses, wallets, handbags and purses, travel bags, suitcases, belts, and shoes. Because the applicant is a U.S. company,
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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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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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Lady Gaga? Never Heard of Her
On September 26, 2011, Stefani Germanotta, better known as Lady Gaga, and one of her companies, Ate My Heart Inc. sued Excite Worldwide LLC a company which is trying to trademark LADY GAGA and
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Court Rules Louboutin’s Red Soles are Fashion, not a Trademark
A federal court in New York has ruled that designer Christian Louboutin (“Louboutin”) does not have the exclusive right to make women’s designer shoes with red soles. In 2008 Louboutin registered a trademark (Reg.
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Redskins tell Washington Post to Cease and Desist using Redskins Name
In what must be one of the stranger cease-and-desist requests in recent memory, the Washington Redskins have reportedly demanded that its home-town newspaper the Washington Post cease and desist using the name “Redskins” as
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