For our weekly SoCal IP Institute meeting on Monday, February 11th , 2019, we will discuss the following cases:

In re DePorter (TTAB January 29, 2019 here) Applicant applied for the mark #MAGICNUMBER108 to be used with clothing. The Trademark Office rejected the application arguing the mark failed to function as a trademark. The TTAB affirmed the refusal to register. A majority of evidence in the record consisted of social media posts by users from around the world using the hashtag #MAGICNUMBER108. The TTAB found that due to the affiliation of the hashtag with the Chicago Cubs Baseball team, the hashtag failed to function as a trademark.

In Re Google  (CAFC February 5, 2019 here) Google was sued in the Eastern District of Texas for patent infringement on several patents related to networking. Google filed for dismissal, citing TC Heartland, and arguing it did not reside in Texas. The district court disagreed, finding that Google used and owned computers within the district. Although Google owned the servers, it did rent the rack space the servers themselves were on. Google filed a writ of mandamus to the Federal Circuit, which was denied.

All are invited to join us on Monday February 11th , 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.