Intellectual Property News and Reports

Springboards for Education (“Springboards”) brought trademark infringement claims against McAllen Independent School District (“MISD”), a public school district in Texas, and IDEA Public Schools (“IDEA”), a nonprofit organization operating charter schools in Texas. The district court dismissed the suit against... Read more →

This case is about gruyere cheese—“widely considered among the greatest of all cheeses,” according to the Oxford Companion to Cheese, J.A. 1771—and under what circumstances cheese can be labeled as such. Appellants are a Swiss consortium, Interprofession du Gruyère (“IDG”),... Read more →

This appeal requires us to answer a question of first impression about the Copyright Act’s statute of limitations that has divided our sister circuits. The Copyright Act has a three-year statute of limitations. 17 U.S.C. § 507(b). Under our circuit’s... Read more →

The panel affirmed in part and vacated in part the district court’s judgment and award of attorneys’ fees in favor of the plaintiff and remanded in a trademark case. Defendant Citizens Equity First Credit Union (CEFCU) petitioned the Trademark Trial... Read more →

This is a case of two software companies—dmarcian, Inc. (dInc) and dmarcian Europe BV (dBV)—and a broken business relationship. The original dmarcian, dInc, is a Delaware corporation with headquarters in North Carolina. Its corporate homonym, dBV, is a Dutch entity... Read more →

The panel (1) affirmed the district court’s dismissal of an action brought under the Lanham Act by Scott Rigsby and the Scott Rigsby Foundation against GoDaddy Inc. et al., seeking declaratory and injunctive relief including return of the domain name... Read more →

Block, Inc. appeals from an order granting in part H&R Block, Inc. and HRB Innovations, Inc.’s (collectively, “H&R Block”) motion for a preliminary injunction. The district court enjoined Block, Inc. from engaging in the following conduct: 1. from using “Block,... Read more →

In this trademark infringement case, we must decide whether the parties’ FOREMOST trademarks at issue could confuse consumers into thinking that a relationship exists between the parties. Here, the District Court found at summary judgment that there was no likelihood... Read more →

This dispute is about the right to use the word “Floribama” and lies at the crossroads of the Lanham Act and the First Amendment. Plaintiffs-Appellants MGFB Properties, Inc. (“MGFB”), Flora-Bama Management LLC (“Flora-Bama Mgmt.”), and Flora-Bama Old S.A.L.T.S. Inc. (“Old... Read more →

The panel vacated the district court’s order denying San Antonio Winery, Inc.’s motion for a default judgment against Jiaxing Micarose Trade Co., Ltd., in an action in which San Antonio asserts claims under the Lanham Act and related state-law claims.... Read more →