Intellectual Property News and Reports

Trademarks allow consumers to distinguish one product from another quickly and cheaply. But they could not perform this signaling function if a trademark owner’s competitors could freely use the owner’s mark to sell their (potentially inferior) goods. So the Lanham... Read more →

Today we decide if civil lawsuits are more like regular or postseason National Football League (NFL) games. That is, can they end in a tie or must a winner always be named? We think they are more like regular season... Read more →

This appeal asks us to address the doctrine of reverse-confusion trademark infringement. Reverse confusion is not a standalone claim in trademark law; rather, it is a theory of how trademark infringement can occur. In reverse-confusion cases, the plaintiff is usually... Read more →

A.I.G. Agency, Inc. (“Agency”) sued American International Group, Inc. (“International”) for trademark infringement over International’s use of the “AIG” trademark. The district court granted summary judgment for International, holding Agency’s claims were barred by the doctrine of laches. We reverse... Read more →

This trademark infringement case is like déjà vu all over again. After we affirmed another district court’s summary-judgment dismissal of the same plaintiff’s suit against another Texas school district, the district court granted summary judgment to the defendant school district... Read more →

Sunless, Inc. sells tanning booths and accompanying spray tan solution under the “Mystic Tan” mark. Sunless claims that applying Mystic Tan solution in a Mystic Tan booth results in a “Mystic Tan Experience.” Palm Beach, Inc. owns and franchises a... Read more →

The panel affirmed the district court’s summary judgment in favor of Bacardi U.S.A., Inc., and two of its affiliates in a trademark infringement action brought by Lodestar Anstalt. The Madrid Protocol, as implemented by amendments contained in Title XII of... Read more →

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 →