It has been about a year since we published Harry Potter Lawsuits and Where to Find Them, my attempt at a comprehensive review of Harry Potter-related litigation. Why update the article now? Two reasons. First: The long-awaited book version of Harry Potter and the Cursed Child hits the shelves on July 31, 2016.… More
Monthly Archives: July 2016
MACCOFFEE Found Likely To Ride Coat-Tails Of McDonald’s EU ‘Mc’ Family Of Trademarks
On July 5, 2016, the European General Court rendered an interesting decision illustrating the broad protection enjoyed by those trademarks with “a reputation in the EU.” The full text of the decision is available in English here and in French here.
The case involved a Singapore company called Future Enterprises, which filed an EU trademark for MACCOFFEE on October 13, 2008 for a wide variety of food products and beverages in classes 29,… More
The Federal Trademark Statute Assumes Hillary Can’t Win
Today’s example of unintentional sexism comes to us from Section 2(c) of the Lanham Act. On its face, the language of the statute assumes that someone other than Hillary will win the 2016 presidential election – and it won’t be Jill Stein. It could be Donald Trump, Bernie Sanders, Gary Johnson, or your dad, but it’ll be someone male.
Section 2 of the Lanham Act,… More
The Pleads Of The Many: 50 Years of Star Trek Lawsuits
This year marks the fiftieth anniversary of the premiere of the original series of Star Trek, which first aired on NBC in September 1966. On July 22, this milestone will be marked in earnest when Paramount Pictures releases the new film, Star Trek Beyond (which sadly includes the final Chekovian performance by the recently-departed Anton Yelchin).… More
Bastille Day Fireworks and Copyright
Bastille Day is a French national holiday that commemorates the storming of the Bastille on July 14, 1789, an important episode in the French Revolution. Each year, Paris celebrates the day with an elaborate military parade down the Champs Elysées. Large and small fire departments across France hold balls with music, wine and dancing; and of course fireworks are set off from the Eiffel Tower.… More
Trademark Red Tape: Post-Registration Proof Pilot To Go Permanent
Regular readers of the Trademark and Copyright Law Blog and our Trademark Red Tape™ column may recall our previous report on a pilot study by the United States Patent & Trademark Office (PTO) about post-registration proof of use. Under current PTO practice, a specimen demonstrating use of a mark on a single good or service within a class is sufficient to maintain registration for an entire class,… More
The Death Of Alexander Hamilton And The Birth Of The American Free Press
Alexander Hamilton has more to do with American independence than you might think. His efforts as a Founding Father (the hottest Founding Father on Broadway, it should be noted) helped the United States achieve political independence from Great Britain. But Hamilton also made a vital contribution towards helping the American justice system declare jurisprudential independence from the English courts, particularly with regard to defamation and free speech.… More
Q&A: Catherine Muyl On Brexit’s Impact On European Patents, Trademarks
Trademark and Copyright Law Blog author Catherine Muyl was interviewed by Andrew Chung of Reuters yesterday about the impact of Brexit on European Patents and Trademarks. You can find a link to the story here. Catherine’s blog posts about the implications of Brexit for trademark owners are available here and here.… More