Trademark Law

Chemerinsky: Free speech on the SCOTUS docket

The January oral argument calendar includes two major cases about freedom of speech. Although they arise in quite different contexts, they each raise questions of how far the First Amendment extends to limit government regulation. Lee v. Tam Section 2(a) of the Lanham Act, 15 U.S.C. 1052(a), provides that no…

Jan 5, 2017 8:30 AM CST

Law firm can run ads targeting specific nursing home, Georgia Supreme Court rules

A Mississippi-based law firm seeking nursing home neglect and abuse cases didn’t violate Georgia trademark law by targeting PruittHealth Inc. in one of its ads, the Georgia Supreme Court has ruled. In a decision on Monday, the court lifted an injunction that had barred the ads by the McHugh Fuller…

Nov 22, 2016 12:10 PM CST

Dr. Seuss Enterprises sues over crowdfunded comic, ‘Oh, the Places You’ll Boldly Go!’

Dr. Seuss Enterprises has filed a trademark and copyright lawsuit over a crowdfunded book that is said to combine elements of Star Trek and Dr. Seuss. The federal suit (PDF), filed last Friday, says webcomics company ComicMix “unabashedly misappropriates” the intellectual property of Dr. Seuss Enterprises with its illustrated book,…

Nov 17, 2016 8:00 AM CST

ABA brief in disparaging trademarks case says denied registration doesn’t eliminate all protection

The ABA has filed an amicus brief in a U.S. Supreme Court case that considers whether a federal law banning the registration of disparaging trademarks is viewpoint discrimination that violates the First Amendment. The ABA filed the amicus brief (PDF) on Wednesday in Lee v. Tam, a case filed by…

Nov 16, 2016 12:30 PM CST

South Texas College of Law announces its latest new name

The South Texas College of Law has opted for a tweak rather than an entire name change after losing an injunction fight over its plan to change its name to the Houston College of Law. The law school’s new name will be the South Texas College of Law Houston, according…

Nov 7, 2016 2:31 PM CST

Law school agrees to second name change after losing injunction fight in trademark suit

The South Texas College of Law has abandoned plans to change its name to the Houston College of Law after a federal judge enjoined use of the new name in a trademark suit filed by the University of Houston Law Center. The law school is devising a new name that…

Oct 27, 2016 10:46 AM CDT

Judge orders law school to stop using its new name

A federal judge in Texas has barred the newly named Houston College of Law from using the name. U.S. District Judge Keith Ellison granted a temporary injunction on Friday in a trademark infringement suit filed by the University of Houston Law Center, the Houston Chronicle (sub. req.) reports in an…

Oct 17, 2016 9:43 AM CDT

Supreme Court to consider law banning disparaging trademarks

The U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday agreed to decide the constitutionality of a law that bans registration of disparaging trademarks. The court will decide the issue in the case of a “Chinatown dance rock” band that wants to trademark its name, the Slants, SCOTUSblog reports. The case page is here.…

Sep 29, 2016 10:27 AM CDT

Apple faces some restrictions on use of term ‘iWatch’ in UK

A trademark opposition Swiss watch maker Swatch filed against Apple, involving the term “iWatch,” was recently granted by the United Kingdom’s Intellectual Property Office. The agency found that the term, which was registered by California-based Apple, was too similar to the Swatch trademarks “iSwatch” and “Swatch,” the BBC and Computer…

Sep 13, 2016 1:15 PM CDT

University of Houston Law Center sues over law school’s ‘strikingly similar’ new name

The University of Houston Law Center claims in a lawsuit that the South Texas College of law infringed its trademark by changing its name to the Houston College of Law and adopting its red-and-white colors. The suit, filed on Monday in Houston federal court, also alleges unfair competition, according to…

Jun 28, 2016 10:13 AM CDT

Lawyer takes chicken restaurant’s trademarks in lieu of $200K in legal fees, launches a new career

Representing a Southern chicken-and-biscuits fast-food restaurant was not initially a lucrative career move for attorney John Buttolph. His clients, struggling with a lack of capital, a loss of business for Atlanta-based Mrs. Winner’s Chicken & Biscuits during the Great Recession and the inability to get credit, at first resisted a…

Jun 15, 2016 4:12 PM CDT

Use of ‘thanks’ in loyalty program will confuse consumers, Citigroup says in suit against AT&T

Does the use of “thanks” in an AT&T customer rewards program amount to trademark infringement? Yes, says Citigroup Inc, and it will confuse consumers, because the bank has used the phrase “thankyou” in various customer loyalty and rewards programs since 2004, Reuters reports. Citigroup recently filed a trademark lawsuit against…

Jun 10, 2016 1:30 PM CDT

Law student prevails against Marvel and DC Comics over use of word ‘superhero’ in book title

A British businessman who is also a law student got some real-world legal experience over the last few years when the title of his self-help book, Business Zero to Superhero, caught the attention of major comic-book publishers. Although competitors in the publishing world, Marvel Comics and DC Comics band together…

May 25, 2016 11:20 AM CDT

Vincent Gallo sues Facebook over claimed refusal to deactivate imposter’s account

Actor and director Vincent Gallo filed a federal lawsuit against Facebook in Los Angeles on Monday, contending that the social media Goliath has refused his demands to take down a bogus account in his name. Asserting Lanham Act and unfair competition claims, among others, the actor and director—who himself has…

May 18, 2016 3:45 PM CDT

Law firm claims its First Amendment rights were violated when judge banned its nursing home ad

A Mississippi-based law firm is asking the Georgia Supreme Court to overturn an injunction banning an ad that sought clients who suspected their loved ones were neglected or abused at a Moultrie, Georgia, nursing home. The McHugh Fuller Law Group argues the injunction was overbroad and violated its First Amendment…

Apr 28, 2016 8:45 AM CDT