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Trademark Bulletins

Trademark Bulletin July 2020

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Remembering Rep. John Lewis, Who For Years Stood With Native American Peoples in Opposing Washington’s “Redskins” Moniker

            The late Rep. John Lewis stands among a handful of Civil Rights juggernauts whose actions and sacrifices shaped the history of racial justice in this country.  Recognized as an aide and close associate of the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Lewis is perhaps best known as an organizer of several peaceful protests in support of racial equality during the Jim Crow Era, including several “Freedom Rides” through the American South in 1961, the 1963 March on Washington and the 1965 Montgomery-to-Selma marches.

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Trademark Bulletin May 2020

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Healthvana Sues “As Seen On TV” Company Over Hand Sanitizer

On Tuesday, May 12, 2020, digital healthcare start up Healthvana, Inc. sued Telebrands Corp., the company credited as the pioneer of “As Seen on TV” ads, in a California district court, claiming that it was damaged as a result of Telebrands’ unauthorized use of the registered trademark Healthvana to sell overpriced hand sanitizer. Read More

Trademark Bulletin September/October 2019

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USPTO Releases Revised Examination Guide Following Backlash

On September 6, 2019, the USPTO released a revised examination guide to clarify the controversial amendment to Rule 2.11, which requires all foreign domiciled trademark applicants, registrants, or parties of a trademark proceeding to obtain representation from a U.S. licensed attorney in order to complete the trademark application process. The release of the revised examination guide, which provides practical information related to the rule, comes after the USPTO received many requests to elaborate on certain provisions in the unprecedented amendment. A brief summary of the new requirement can be found in our client alert here. Read More

Trademark Bulletin August 2019

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Federal Court Affirms Luxury Eyewear Manufacturer’s $1.9M Win Over Flea Market

On August 7, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit upheld the ruling of a Georgia jury awarding $1.9 million to Luxottica finding the landlord of an indoor flea market in Georgia liable for contributory trademark infringement when the landlord had “constructive” knowledge of the subtenants’ sale of counterfeit eyewear, including knockoffs of Ray-Ban and Oakley brands. Read More

Trademark Bulletin July 2019

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U.S. Supreme Court Finds USPTO’s Bar on Offensive Trademarks Unconstitutional

On June 24, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled by a 6-3 vote that a federal law banning the registration of “immoral or scandalous” trademarks violates the First Amendment. In Iancu v. Brunetti, the court found in favor of Eric Brunetti, a Los Angeles streetwear designer who attempted to register the name of his 30-year-old brand, FUCT. Read More

Trademark Bulletin May 2019

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Fashion Law Scotus Case: Trademarks and Continuing Infringements

Dunnington trademark team members Olivera Medenica, Raymond J. Dowd and Sixtine Bousquet-Lambert recently authored a Supreme Court brief on a trademark issue pertinent to the fashion industry. On June 20, the U.S. Supreme Court will decide whether to grant a petition for certiorari filed by Lucky Brand Dungarees in Lucky Brand Dungarees, Inc., et al., v. Marcel Fashions Group, Inc. Dunnington represents respondent Marcel Fashions Group, Inc. who is opposing the petition. At issue in the case is whether, in an action to enforce a trademark infringement judgment, a defendant who continues with the exact same infringements can collaterally attack a prior judgment with a defense that it raised in that prior action but deliberately chose not to prosecute.

You can read more about the case here. Read More

Trademark Bulletin April 2019

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FUCT Fashion Label Takes its ‘Scandalous’ Trademark Case to Supreme Court

On Monday, April 15, 2019, the Supreme Court considered the question of whether the Lanham Act’s prohibition on the federal registration of “immoral” or “scandalous” trademarks is unconstitutional under the Free Speech Clause of the First Amendment. Read More

Trademark Bulletin March 2019

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SDNY District Court Rejects Laurel Road’s Trade Dress Suit Against CommonBond

On August 27, 2018, Laurel Road Bank sued competitor CommonBond, Inc. over the latter’s display of an advertisement for its student loan financing services, alleging that CommonBond’s advertisement infringed and diluted the trade dress of Laurel Road’s advertisements of its own student loan refinancing services. Read More

Trademark Bulletin February 2019

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BIC Files ITC Complaint Against Importers of Allegedly Counterfeit Pocket Lighters

On December 6, 2018, BIC Corporation (“BIC”) petitioned the United States International Trade Commission (“ITC”) for an investigation into the illicit importation into the United States, sale for importation, or sale after importation of six respondents’ pocket lighters, alleging that respondents’ lighters infringe BIC’s intellectual property rights in the design of its disposable cigarette lighters, otherwise known as their “trade dress.” In its petition, BIC argues that similarities in the appearance of respondents’ lighters and its lighters will lead consumers to be confused as to the source and/or sponsorship of respondents’ lighters, or to affiliate respondents’ lighters with BIC.  BIC’s petition asks the ITC to issue a general exclusion order blocking the importation of infringing lighters from any source, not just the named respondents, and claims that such an order “is necessary and appropriate to prevent circumvention of limited exclusion orders directed to products of Respondents.”

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