Grecia is the Word, Have You Heard, His Complaints were Dismissed?

Judges won't readily dismiss a lawsuit. Usually, they will give the plaintiff several chances to correct flaws in a complaint before dismissing with prejudice. It's especially rare to see a judge dismiss a patent suit with prejudice because the infringement allegation is so weak that the patentee has no chance of success. These rare cases [...]

By |2023-02-12T20:08:17-08:00February 12th, 2023|Pleading Standards, Litigation, Patent|0 Comments

Lawsuits are spiking on the issue of whether non-fungible tokens (“NFTs”) qualify as “real” goods for the purpose of trademark protection – May 16, 2022

Non-fungible tokens ("NFTs") - what are they, anyhow? Technically, they are a digital asset.  Again, what does that mean? On Monday, May 16, 2022, SoCal IP Law Group LLP partner Marina L. Lang will lead a discussion on defining the nature of these novel digital assets and discuss the growing litigation over whether these assets [...]

1 hour Ethics MCLE – Practicing Legal Civility in Virtual Communications, especially when the “Connection is Poor”

Join us in watching this webinar: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wUWbCZj4WHk After, we will discuss our various thoughts and perspectives on watching ourselves practice law, before our very eyes and behaving civilly when the "connection is poor." We will discuss this webinar on November 15, 2021 via Teams and in-person for those wishing to attend. All are welcome to [...]

By |2021-11-14T21:09:51-08:00November 14th, 2021|Litigation, Trademark, Likelihood of Confusion|0 Comments

Lanham Act Puffery and Foreign Jurisdictional Issues

Which Pizza has better ingredients and who is allowed to say so? Our two cases are Lanham Act court of appeals cases. The first, Pizza Hut, Inc. v. Papa John’s Int’l., 227 F.3d 489 (5th Cir 2000) (here), from the Fifth Circuit in 2000, relates to Pizza Hut’s claim the Papa John’s advertising using the phrase [...]

By |2021-10-25T11:13:59-07:00October 22nd, 2021|Litigation, Trademark, Likelihood of Confusion|0 Comments

USPTO Crackdown on Trademark Scammers Amazon Crackdown on Counterfeiters

Please join us 9/27/2021 at 1:00pm for a discussion: United States Patent and Trademark Office Crackdown on Scammers. For years, owners of United States Trademark Registrations have been plagued by scam letters requesting payments to renews trademark registrations. Though trademark registrations must be renewed, these letters did not come from the actual USPTO but a [...]

Prosecuting Chinese Counterfeiters: New Enforcement Strategies Learned from Fendi v. Yilang at Shanghai Higher People’s Court

The FENDI Decision is out! After 5 long years, the Shanghai High Court issued its final judgement in the case of Fendi v. Yi Lang. Defendant Yi Lang (no relative of this week's presenter, SoCal IP Partner Marina Lang) can no longer operate his "Fendi" stores in China, stocked with parallel goods.  We will discuss [...]

Sirius Wins on CA State Copyright Claims and Sovereign Immunity Strikes Again

Sirius Gets a Win on CA State Copyright Claims In Flo & Eddie, Inc. v. Sirius XM Radio, Inc., No. 17-55844 (August 23, 2021) (available here), the panel reversed the district court’s grant of partial summary judgment to Flo & Eddie, Inc. in its action against Sirius XM satellite radio, seeking royalties for pre-1972 songs [...]

By |2021-08-30T09:04:18-07:00August 27th, 2021|Copyright, Litigation|0 Comments

Abstract Ideas Invalidate Patents and Pleading TM Infringement for Keyword Ad Use

Please join us on Monday, August 23 at 1:00 pm, when Mark Goldstein will lead a discussion of two recent cases, one addressing whether patents are invalid for claiming abstract ideas and the other about asserting trademark infringement resulting from the use of internet keywords that are the trademarks of another. (Access the cases by [...]

Prior Art Status of Printed Publications and Unclean Hands in TM Infringement

On Monday, August 12, Michael Harris will conduct a discussion of two cases, one dealing with the prior art status of a printed publication, and the other about unclean hands as a defense to trademark infringement. The 2021, Ninth Circuit case of Metal Jeans, Inc. v. Metal Sport, Inc. (case here) is the unclean hands case. [...]

By |2021-08-13T14:05:37-07:00August 13th, 2021|Litigation, Patent, Sanctions, Trademark, TTAB, Use in Commerce, Damages|0 Comments

Two Gotchas: Derivative Work Denied Copyright Registration; Insufficient Proof of Non-Use in Trademark Cancellation Action

On Monday, August 9, 2021, Chris Kopitzke will lead a discussion of the Copyright Office’s refusal to register the most recent version of the Golden Globe statuette, and the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board’s finding that evidence submitted to prove non-use of a trademark was insufficient to establish a prima facie case of abandonment. In [...]

By |2021-08-05T21:16:43-07:00August 5th, 2021|Copyright, Litigation, Trademark, TTAB, Use in Commerce, Damages|0 Comments
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