Trademark Law

Subscribe to Trademark Law via RSS

By Jeff Pietsch

Last year, Google lost the first round of a court battle against Vulcan Golf, a golf club manufacturer, in a trademark and cybersquatting dispute. In that decision, the US District Court in Illinois ruled that Google could be sued for its role in serving ads on websites that use domain names that violate trademark and cybersquatting laws. In the latest round of decisions on this case, the court denied class certification damaging the plaintiffs’ hopes in prevailing in this matter.  

 Continue Reading Class Action Certification Denied in Google Trademark Case

By Scott Hervey

While the producers of American Idol, FreemantleMedia North America, appreciate just how much people love the show, it’s now obvious Freemantle doesn’t agree with the old adage that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. In late December, Freemantle filed suit against a strip club in Austin, Texas that ran a stripper talent contest, and called it “Stripper Idol” and also used the American Idol logo. Freemantle claimed that the strip club owner’s use of “Stripper Idol” in connection with its stripper talent contest constitutes Federal trademark infringement because such use “is likely to cause confusion, mistake, or to deceive as to the affiliation, connection, or association” of the strip club owners with Freemantle or the American Idol program.

Continue Reading Stripper Idol Hits a Flat Note with Owners of American Idol

by Scott Cameron

Trademark infringement is generally the improper use of a competitor’s trademark that results in the customer buying one product thinking it is another. The classic example is when the new competitor adopts the name of the established competitor, or varies the name ever so slightly. Company A calls its new product “TheUltraWidget” to trade on the goodwill Company B has built in its best-selling “UltraWidget.”

These cases are pretty simple. If the consumer is likely to be confused by Company A’s use of Company B’s trademark, and Company B is harmed by (or Company A profits from) that use, there is actionable trademark infringement. As long as Company B can establish the elements of the claim, it is entitled to injunctive relief and monetary damages.

Continue Reading Metatags and Hidden Text – Hidden Trademark Infringement

By Audrey A. Millemann

The beginning of the year is a good time to review your clients’ intellectual property needs. The first and most important thing to do is to determine what intellectual property the client has. Once the intellectual property has been identified, the means of protecting it can be analyzed and a plan for establishing protection set up. 

What is Intellectual Property?

Almost anything can constitute intellectual property. IP may fall into one or more of the following categories: inventions that can be patented, expression that is copyrightable, names or logos that are trademarks, and information that is a trade secret. Continue Reading Intellectual Property Basics

By Scott Hervey

The holiday season means something different for each of us. For some it’s a time for eggnog, parties and mistletoe. For others, it’s a time for cease and desist letters, seizure actions and lawsuits. Yes Virginia, there is a Santa Clause, and his lawyers stand ready to sue those who use his marks and other intellectual property without permission.

 

 Continue Reading Christmas – A Time For Fruitcake and Infringement Actions