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Mealey's Trademarks

  • April 16, 2025

    6th Circuit: No Coverage Owed For Trademark Infringement Suit Against Pharmacy

    CINCINNATI — The Sixth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals affirmed a lower federal court’s summary judgment ruling in favor of insurers in a pharmacist insured’s breach of contract lawsuit seeking coverage for underlying trademark infringement and false advertising claims brought by a subsidiary of Johnson & Johnson, finding that one policy’s professional services exclusion barred coverage and the other policy was not triggered because the underlying lawsuit was not brought by “natural persons.”

  • April 15, 2025

    Federal Circuit Rejects Appeal Of Man’s Challenge To Football Team’s Royal Mark

    WASHINGTON, D.C. — A Vermont man who sought to cancel the New Orleans Louisiana Saints LLC’s trademark on a fleur-de-lis design lacked standing to appeal the dismissal of his petition, a Federal Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel said April 14.

  • April 15, 2025

    Brewer Can’t Use ‘Chicken Scratch’ For Beer, Federal Circuit Affirms

    WASHINGTON, D.C. — A brewing company cannot use the mark “Chicken Scratch” in connection with beer after a Federal Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel on April 14 affirmed a U.S. Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (TTAB) decision rejecting the company’s application for a trademark registration; the panel said the TTAB did not err when analyzing the proposed mark’s similarity to a restaurant company’s mark on the same phrase.

  • April 11, 2025

    Judgment Entered For Nonprofit In Trademark Row Involving Website, Advertisements

    ORLANDO, Fla. — Having been advised that the parties reached an agreement to settle the case, a Florida federal judge entered final judgment for a nonprofit Florida health care company that sued an operator of Florida post-acute care and skilled nursing facilities for trademark infringement, granting a permanent injunction due to evidence of confusion between the two entities and enjoining the operator from engaging in trademark infringement, including in advertising and on its website.

  • April 11, 2025

    11th Circuit: No Fees For Tossed IP Claims In Land Purchase Dispute

    ATLANTA — An 11th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel left in place a jury’s finding that defendant real estate entities breached a land purchase agreement (LPA) but owed a plaintiff real estate company only $1 in damages; the panel also affirmed a Georgia federal judge’s decision to deny attorney fees to the plaintiff company for claims brought under the Copyright Act and the Lanham Act.

  • April 10, 2025

    9th Circuit Agrees: Both Sides Of ‘Smarter’ Mark Row Come Up Short

    SAN FRANCISCO — A Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel on April 9 affirmed a California federal judge’s decision to reject all claims and counterclaims in a trademark dispute over the word “Smarter” in relation to nutritional products, agreeing with the judge that neither party had shown that it had a protectible mark in the first place.

  • April 10, 2025

    Federal Circuit Affirms TTAB Decision In Online Voter Guide Mark Dispute

    WASHINGTON, D.C. — A Federal Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel said April 9 that the U.S. Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (TTAB) was right to reject a voting guide company’s opposition to proposed trademarks sought by a similar entity, agreeing that the appellant company’s own marks could not be shown to be distinctive enough for trademark protection.

  • April 09, 2025

    Judge Dismisses ‘Blade Runner’ IP Suit Against Tesla, Others With Leave To Amend

    LOS ANGELES — A federal judge in California dismissed with leave to amend an independent film studio’s complaint against Tesla Inc., Elon Musk and Warner Bros. Discovery Inc., after issuing a tentative holding that the company adequately suggested for the purpose of surviving a dismissal motion that Tesla and Musk may have infringed upon copyrights related to the 2017 film “Blade Runner 2049” while promoting Tesla’s planned “cybercab” product.

  • April 08, 2025

    5th Circuit: Injunction In Honor Society Trademark Fight Wrongly Bars Speech

    NEW ORLEANS — A Mississippi federal judge’s preliminary injunction order compelling a community college honor society to include a disclaimer on its website notifying visitors of ongoing trademark litigation violated the society’s free speech rights, a Fifth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel held April 7.

  • April 08, 2025

    Lilly Says Weight Loss Company Infringed Trademarks With Altered Products

    INDIANAPOLIS — Eli Lilly and Co., which manufactures diet drugs Mounjaro and Zepbound, sued an Indiana weight loss clinic for trademark infringement on April 7, alleging in Indiana federal court that the company represents on its website and in advertising material that it sells unaltered, Food and Drug Administration-approved Lilly medicines when it does not.

  • April 07, 2025

    Supreme Court Won’t Hear T-Mobile’s Arguments About Revived Trademark Suit

    WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. Supreme Court on April 7 denied a petition for a writ of certiorari from T-Mobile US Inc. that Fourth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals was wrong to revive a trademark infringement complaint brought against it by Simply Wireless Inc., leaving in place the Fourth Circuit’s finding that Simply Wireless raised a genuine question as to whether it had abandoned the SIMPLY PREPAID mark at issue.

  • April 04, 2025

    Judge Denies Dismissal Of Copyright Suit Against Trump For Song Use

    ATLANTA — A federal judge in Georgia denied a bid from President Donald J. Trump and associated entities to dismiss the second amended complaint brought by parties charged with overseeing the works of late soul musician Isaac Hayes for alleged infringement of the song “Hold On, I’m Comin.’”

  • April 03, 2025

    Judge Tosses Cannabis IP Suit Against Meta And NYC’s Intervenor Suit

    NEW YORK — A federal judge in New York dismissed with prejudice a complaint against Meta Platforms Inc. by a “serial IP litigant” who accused the social media company of infringing copyrights associated with marijuana products, holding that the man failed to show Meta infringed the copyrights by allowing the posting of photos with the products’ logos.

  • March 27, 2025

    2nd Circuit: Judge Missed Confusion Analysis In Lego Figure Injunction Order

    NEW YORK — A Second Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel held March 26 that it cannot determine whether a Connecticut federal judge was right to rule that a toy company’s redesigned figurines still ran afoul of a preliminary injunction previously ordered in an intellectual property dispute with Lego A/S and affiliated Lego entities (collectively, Lego).

  • March 26, 2025

    7th Circuit: Judge Wrong To Reject Profits Disgorgement In Counterfeit Dyson Case

    CHICAGO — A federal judge in Illinois was wrong to deny a request by Dyson Technology Ltd. for damages based on e-commerce profits from sales of counterfeited goods, a panel in the Seventh Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals held March 25, saying the judge’s order conflicts with the statutory guidelines under the Lanham Act.

  • March 26, 2025

    Federal Circuit Affirms Dismissal Of Patent, False Ad Claims In Tape Case

    WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Federal Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals largely affirmed an Ohio federal judge’s finding that a patent describing a floor-marking tape product was anticipated by a prior art reference and the judge’s decision to grant summary judgment in favor of defendant entities on false advertising claims.

  • March 20, 2025

    Federal Circuit: TTAB Rightly Canceled Pawn Shop Marks Due To Earlier Use

    WASHINGTON, D.C. — A Federal Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel on March 19 held that a financial group could not use the zone of natural expansion doctrine in support of its claims of priority of use of the mark “Money Mart” in connection with pawn shops and pawn brokerage, affirming a partial grant of another company’s petition for trademark cancelation.

  • March 19, 2025

    4th Circuit: Judge Wrong To Focus On Location In Retirement Home Trademark Row

    RICHMOND, Va. — A Fourth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel on March 18 vacated a Virginia federal judge’s finding that there was no risk of confusion between the trademarks associated with retirement communities based on opposite coasts of the United States; the panel said the judge was wrong to rely purely on the geographical distance between the respective companies when analyzing the risk of confusion.

  • March 13, 2025

    Federal Judge Tosses Trademark Claims Between Activists, Rejects Recusal

    DALLAS — A federal judge in Texas dismissed with prejudice trademark claims and counterclaims in a dispute between two similarly named entities focused on the advancement of African Americans in the technology profession and denied a former litigant’s request for sanctions against one of the parties’ attorneys and recusal of the judge; the former litigant filed an immediate notice of appeal to the Fifth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals.

  • March 13, 2025

    Federal Circuit: No Error In TTAB’s Fireball Mark Genericness Analysis

    WASHINGTON, D.C. — In a dispute over the trademarks related to fiery brands of whiskey, a Federal Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel on March 12 affirmed findings from the U.S. Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (TTAB) that Sazerac Brands LLC’s “Fireball” trademarks are not generic and that there was no likelihood of confusion between the mark and those for which another liquor maker applied.

  • March 11, 2025

    10th Circuit Agrees: No Immunity For School Head Who Threatened Trademark Suits

    DENVER — A superintendent of a New Mexico school district “violated clearly established law” when attempting to use a trademark associated with the name of the district as a basis for cease-and-desist letters sent to the people behind a parent-run Facebook page, a 10th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel held March 10, affirming a New Mexico federal judge’s denial of the superintendent’s motion for summary judgment.

  • March 11, 2025

    Judge Allows Case Alleging Violations Of Diet Drugs’ Trademarks To Move Forward

    SEATTLE — A Washington federal judge agreed that state law claims filed against medical centers and two physicians who prescribe patients compounded versions of tirzepatide, an FDA-approved drug for diabetes and weight loss, are preempted by federal law but otherwise denied a motion to dismiss.

  • March 03, 2025

    Supreme Court Won’t Hear Trademark Settlement ‘Fraud’ Arguments

    WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. Supreme Court on March 3 denied a petition for a writ of certiorari filed by four companies that argued the Second Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals wrongly allowed to stand a New York federal judge’s denial of a request to vacate a 2011 settlement in a trademark case due to an allegedly fraudulent document submitted as evidence.

  • February 26, 2025

    High Court: Lanham Act Doesn’t Support $43M Disgorgement From Nonparties

    WASHINGTON, D.C. — A unanimous U.S. Supreme Court on Feb. 26 held that the Fourth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals was wrong to affirm a $43 million disgorgement award entered in a real estate company’s favor in a trademark infringement dispute with an entity it said infringed its marks; the court held that the Fourth Circuit and a Virginia federal judge should not have included profits from entities affiliated with the alleged infringer in damages calculations.

  • February 26, 2025

    5th Circuit Affirms Denial Of Injunction In Real Estate Trademark Fight

    NEW ORLEANS — A Fifth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel affirmed a Louisiana federal judge’s decision to deny a preliminary injunction in a trademark infringement dispute between two real estate companies with the word “Rampart” in their name, agreeing with the judge that the plaintiff company had failed to show a substantial likelihood of confusion between the companies’ respective names.