Intellectual Property News and Reports

Vacating the district court’s partial summary judgment in favor of the plaintiff and remanding in an action under the Lanham Act, the panel held that the first sale doctrine applies when a trademarked product has been incorporated in a new... Read more →

Steve Elster appeals a decision of the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (“Board”). The Board affirmed an examiner’s refusal to register the trademark “TRUMP TOO SMALL” for use on T-shirts. The Board’s decision was based on section 2(c) of the... Read more →

Vox Populi Registry Ltd. (“Vox”) appeals a final decision of the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (“Board”) affirming the United States Patent and Trademark Office’s (“USPTO”) refusal of U.S. Trademark Application Serial No. 87/187,215 (“the ’215 application”) for (“the stylized... Read more →

This appeal grew out of a dispute over a program (called “The Trial Lawyers College”) to train trial lawyers. The College’s board of directors splintered into two factions, known as the “Spence Group” and the “Sloan Group.” The two groups... Read more →

This is an appeal of a district court order staying a federal action for trademark infringement and unfair competition pending resolution of common trademark license issues in long-pending state court litigation between the parties. We dismiss the appeal for lack... Read more →

Pennsylvania law imposes on insurers a broad duty to defend lawsuits brought against those they insure. Vitamin Energy, LLC, obtained a policy from Evanston Insurance Company and was subsequently sued by a competitor, the owners of the 5-hour Energy brand,... Read more →

In September 2007, Galperti S.r.l. (Galperti-Italy), to support its application to the Patent and Trademark Office (PTO) for registration of the mark GALPERTI, told the PTO that, in the five preceding years, its use of the mark was “substantially exclusive.”... Read more →

The Brooklyn Brewery Corporation (“Brewery”) appeals a decision of the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (the “Board”). Brewery petitioned to cancel Brooklyn Brew Shop, LLC’s (“BBS”) registration of the mark “BROOKLYN BREW SHOP,” in standard characters, for goods identified as... Read more →

In 1995, McKeon Products (“McKeon”) sued Howard S. Leight and Associates (“Leight”) over its use of a phonetically identical trademark. Both companies made earplugs. McKeon used the brand name “MACK’S,” and Leight used the brand names “MAX” and “MAX-LITE.” The... Read more →

Musicians David Beasley and William Howard are embroiled in a long-running dispute over the rights to the band name “Ebonys.” Beasley filed two petitions before the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (“TTAB”) to cancel Howard’s registered THE EBONYS mark. The... Read more →