Patent-related litigation made up more than half of all lawsuits filed in America last year, a forty percent increase from three years before. With so-called patent troll lawsuits on the rise in a big way, I thought it’d be a good time to highlight the interesting, funny, and little-known side of American patent, trademark, and copyright law. … Read more
In the last 20 years, the U.S. craft brewing industry has grown nearly fivefold. Every year hundreds of new craft breweries join the fray, giving Americans more libation choices than ever before. Go into any bottle shop or liquor store and you’ll find a variety of beers that extend far beyond the basic Budweiser, Coors, … Read more
Completing the trademark application might seem like an end. You’ve performed research and have settled on a strong mark that will serve your business and its customers. Perhaps you’ve even consulted with a trademark attorney to ensure the strength of your application. In reality, the application commences a months-long process that could include various obstacles … Read more
In this article, we will discuss the trademark dispute between a collection of Greek fraternal organizations and Thomas Kenneth Abraham, a vendor of items bearing the logos of said organizations. The purpose of this case study is to demonstrate the importance of proactive and timely enforcement of trademark rights. In addition, the study will mention … Read more
From his Wikipedia page: Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is the 45th and current President of the United States, in office since January 20, 2017. Before entering politics, he was a businessman and television personality. Trump was born in the New York City borough of Queens. He earned an economics degree from the … Read more
After a several weeks-long closure, the Amazon Brand Registry reopened in May 2017 with several changes. The Amazon Brand Registry offers protections to private sellers who have registered trademarks. It offers such protections as predictive automation upon Amazon’s receipt of your report about trademark infringers and gives you added control over the listing of products … Read more
In this article, we will discuss the trademark conflict between Research Group 3, an off-road motorcycle racing suspension company, and their shared trademark with Robert Griffin III, “RG3”. The purpose of this case study is to demonstrate how two seemingly conflicting trademarks can reach a coexistence agreement based on the distinct nature of their commercial … Read more
In this article, we will discuss ongoing litigation between the social media service, Pinterest, and a travel planning startup, Pintrips. The purpose of this case study is to demonstrate potential avenues for trademark infringement and what complaints the infringed party can bring against violators. Furthermore, the study will demonstrate the need for a trademark search … Read more
Every year companies across the country enter costly legal battles over trademark disputes. The following post highlights four of the biggest trademark disputes in recent history. Motorola v. Xoom Corp Motorola, now a subsidiary of Google, is a smartphone and tablet manufacturer. The products all run on Google’s Android operating system, and have slowly become … Read more
A boy, a dog, and a nickname: that’s how the trademark dispute between Duke University and the estate of iconic actor John Wayne began. When Marion Morrison was a child in the early 1900s, his family owned an 80-pound Airedale Terrier named Big Duke. Young Marion disliked his own given name but reveled in the nickname … Read more
On the face of it, the rules behind the use and protection of a trademark are obvious. Once a trademark is registered, other companies are prevented from using it as part of their branding, corporate, or marketing strategies. But it doesn’t always work out that way. The truth is that trademark laws can be complicated. … Read more
A headline-making dispute between the Washington Redskins of the NFL and a group of Native Americans intensified last summer when an appeal board of the US Patent and Trademark Office ruled that the team should be stripped of its trademark protections. In a 2-1 decision, the board stripped the team of six federal trademarks related … Read more
Hardcore baseball fans were aghast last week when they learned that some of their favorite podcasts had been removed from iTunes, without notice. NBC Sports blogger Aaron Gleeman broke the news on Twitter, saying that “MLB requested several team-related podcasts be removed.” Why would Major League Baseball want to remove a source of free marketing? … Read more
A sports team effectively cannot function without trademark rights to its name. Without a federal trademark registration, teams would find it much more difficult to fight infringement cases, particularly from imported goods. The result could be reduced revenue from branded merchandise. This is why the case of the Washington Redskins trademark is so compelling. Owner … Read more
Most people know how to play Angry Birds, the slingshot-themed video game by a Finnish company called Rovio. It isn’t so well-known, however, that Angry Birds has been the focus of some significant trademark disputes since its 2006 inception. Here are two of the most notable cases. Adams vs. Hartz Image via Flickr The person … Read more
Just how many registered trademarks are there in the United States? According to the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), there are more than 600,000 — and that’s as of 2012. With tens of thousands of trademark applications between then and now, the number could reach as high as 700,000 in 2014. We could spend time … Read more