When the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame inducted long-time Chicago Bulls shooting guard Michael Jordan in 2009, Jewel Food Stores gave an assist by agreeing to sell (in its 175 Windy City-area grocery stores) a special Sports Illustrated issue that honored Jordan and his awesome career. SI in return provided Jewel a free throw – a full-page
Bootleg Copy of Earnings Call Didn’t Infringe Swatch’s Copyright
The Swiss company Swatch makes stylish watches but takes itself Way Too Seriously.
A couple of weeks ago, Swatch lost an appeal over whether the maker of low-end, cutie-pie Swap watches infringed the high-end, hoity-toity Swatch trademark. "Swiss Swatch Swings at Swap, Whiffs".
This week, Swatch lost an appeal having to do with an
Supreme Court Floats Raft of New IP Cases
The big three of intellectual property disputes in federal courts – the Copyright Act, the Patent Act, and the Lanham (Trademark) Act – drew the focus of the U.S. Supreme Court today. The justices granted review in three IP cases and one IP-ish one. The cases present these questions:
Whether the Federal Circuit erred in holding
Trademark Owner Must Prove Likely Irreparable Harm for Preliminary Injunction, Ninth Circuit Rules
Herb Reed Enterprises (HRE) claimed that Larry Marshak infringed HRE's trademark rights in "The Platters", a name and mark that relate to a singing group whose hey-day spanned the second half of the 1950s.
The band split up in the 1960s. But nostalgia for "The Great Pretender", "Smoke Gets in Your Eyes", and "Only You"
Non-Owner of Trademark Can’t Sue for Itself, Second Circuit Holds; Za Vashe Zdorovya
When a Russian hands you a shot glass and as you drink down the clear liquid shouts ze vashe zdrovye!, he means to your health!
The vodka won't in fact extend your life, but it could make you giddy for awhile.
Russians may need a drink after last week's thrashing in the Second Circuit. Two entities from the
Snappy and Bitey Review High Court’s 2012-13 Commercial Cases; “Now Is the Time, Cato!”
Snappy reclines. The Empire State Building looms in the mid-distance. Bitey consults his notes. He clears his throat.
Bitey: The U.S. Supreme Court's summer break started last week, Snaps, and the time has come for us to look at the . . . uh . . . results of the 2012-13 Term for those commercial cases
Lawyer-Firing, Judge-Vexing Defendant Regains Control of Assets
If you want to jam a stick in the spokes of the turning wheel we call litigation, how do you get the most bang for your buck?
Here's how: You hire a lawyer. But you don't pay him. And then you fire him. You retain a new one. Ignore her bills. Let her go. Repeat
Quote of the Day: Boyce F. Martin, Jr.
Note the dripping red wax on the seal.
All bourbon is whiskey, but not all whiskey is bourbon.
Maker's Mark Distillery, Inc. v. Diageo N. Am., Inc., No. 10-5508, slip op. 4 (6th Cir. May 9, 2012) (affirming verdict and judgment that dripping-wax red seal on tequila bottles infringed trademark for same on bottles
Sales of Fake Handbags Earn $3.5 Million Trademark Award — on Summary Judgment
Blawgletter marvels at the audacity of people who make, import, and sell knock-offs of famous brands of what you call luxury goods — mostly purses and watches but lots of other high-end, show-off stuff, too.
We suspect they know that the wages of their trademark rip-off sin will run steep — but only if Louis
Louis Vuitton Tags U.S. Firm for China Fakes
The chain works like this:
The online hawkers of handbags bearing the label of a famous high-end maker get their website services from a firm that "hosts" the websites (running the servers, granting "bandwidth", and giving IP ("Internet protocol") addresses) — all for a fee. The hosting firm in turn obtains the servers, bandwidth, and IP addresses under leases from an outfit