Tag Archives: Florida Trademark Infringement
Eleventh Circuit Court Issues Decision in ‘Commodores’ Trademark Dispute
The Commodores is an American funk/soul band that was originally formed in 1968. Over the decades, this band has had many different members, most notably Lionel Richie. Recently, the band has been locked in a trademark infringement lawsuit with a former member. On January 9th, 2018, the United States Court of Appeals for the… Read More »
The Ban on ‘Immoral’ and ‘Scandalous’ Trademarks Has Been Ruled Unconstitutional
Earlier this year, the Supreme Court of the United States struck down a regulation that banned disparaging trademarks. In a unanimous decision, the nation’s highest court determined that the USPTO’s ‘disparagement clause’ was in direct violation of the First Amendment. Now, following much the same logic, the United States Court of Appeals for the… Read More »
New York Mets Accuse Florida Medical Services Company of Trademark Infringement
According to reporting from the New York Post, the New York Mets have filed a trademark complaint against Comprehensive Health Services, a medical services company based in Cape Canaveral, Florida. Last month, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) awarded Comprehensive Health Services a trademark for their proprietary software that goes by the name… Read More »
Coachella Brings Trademark Infringement Lawsuit Against Urban Outfitters
Coachella is one of the most prominent musical festivals in the United States. Many of the nation’s top acts perform each year. Tickets for this year’s April event sold out in less than one hour. Last year, the festival brought in more than $84 million. There is no doubt that concerts like this are… Read More »
Former NFL Star Sues Under Armour for Alleged Trademark Infringement
Former NFL linebacker Shawne Merriman and his company Lights Out Holdings, LLC, have filed a trademark infringement claim as well as a breach of contract claim against Under Armour, INC. The lawsuit, which was filed on February 1st, 2017 in the United States District Court for the Southern District of California, comes after the… Read More »
University of Houston Prevails in a Trademark Dispute
Last year, South Texas College of Law began a comprehensive rebranding effort. Officials from the law school voted to change its name and school colors. Beginning in June of 2016, South Texas was set to become the Houston College of Law and they would wear red and white. Fearing consumer confusion, the University of… Read More »
What is Trademark Dilution?
In order to prevail in a trademark infringement claim, a commercial entity must be able to prove that there was a reasonable likelihood that customer confusion was created by the other party’s use of a similar mark. However, even if there is no reasonable possibility of customer confusion, your company is not necessarily out… Read More »
The Supreme Court Deals with Tacky Trademarks
The U.S. Supreme Court is usually content to leave trademark law more or less untouched, relying on the lower courts to adjust the doctrine since it is something of a niche area of law. Yet, the Court has actually heard two trademarks cases this term. One, B&B Hardware v. Hargis Industries has yet to… Read More »
Likelihood of Confusion in Trademark Law
Trademark law is a complicated field with a variety doctrines and nuances, but the core goal of the law is to prevent consumers from being confused about what company is offering a product or service. That means that in order for a plaintiff to prevail on a trademark infringement claim, they need to show… Read More »
Place Names and Trademarks
Trademark law, like all intellectual property law, has to be balanced to serve two competing goals. On the one hand, giving companies’ trademarks legal protections helps protect customers by making sure they are buying from the company that they think they are. On the other hand, giving too much power to the protection of… Read More »
The Parody Defense to Trademark Infringement
Finding the boundaries of a piece of intellectual property is always much harder than finding the boundaries of a piece of real property. Real property has fences and walls and markers. Intellectual property only has legal doctrines. One of the places this problem appears most is with the parody defense to trademark infringement. The… Read More »
