For our weekly SoCal IP Institute meeting on Monday, December 9th, 2019, we will discuss the following cases:

Diece-Lisa Industries, Inc. v. Disney Enterprises, Inc. (5th Cir. 2019) (available here)

Diece Lisa Industries sued Disney in two separate lawsuits for infringement of its intellectual property. In 2010 Disney released the critically acclaimed movie Toy Story 3 and sold various Lotso the Bear merchandise. Diece Lisa owned the trademark LOTS OF HUGS for “Toys, namely, puppets” and sued Disney for trademark infringement and unfair competition. On appeal, the 5th circuit affirmed the trial court’s decision that the court lacked personal jurisdiction over the IP entities, the appeals court characterized plaintiff’s theory regarding jurisdiction as novel and without merit. The 5th circuit did however vacate the trial court’s order regarding plaintiff’s third amended complaint.

In re Rainier Enterprises, LLC  (TTAB December 2019)(available here)

The trademark office refused to register applicant’s mark for Vodka. Along with a 2(d) refusal the office included two requirements in an office action (comply with a drawing requirement and a color requirement). Applicant responded and appealed, addressing the 2(d) refusal, but not the other two requirements. On appeal, the office affirmed the refusal, citing a failure to comply with office requirements.

All are invited to join us on Monday December 9th, 2019 at noon in our Westlake Village office. This activity is approved for 1 hour of MCLE credit. If you will be joining us, please RSVP to Elisha Manzur by 9 am Monday morning.