Last week, the focus of the legal world was not on intellectual property, to put it mildly. However, copyright law did have a small and somewhat silent, but still important, role in the Supreme Court jurisprudence that led to the legalization of same-sex marriage in Obergefell v. Hodges. In fact, the reasoning of United States v. Windsor,… More
Monthly Archives: June 2015
TTAB Balks at Parody Argument in Yankees Trademark Case
In honor of Foley Hoag’s new New York office, we here at the Boston office reluctantly present a victory by the New York Yankees — albeit not one won on the baseball diamond.
In a trademark opposition that has been underway since 2009, the Yankees have successfully blocked the registration of two marks intended to parody their own: (1) the word mark,… More
5 Things You May Not Know About Trademarks in France
Foley Hoag was recently delighted to announce the arrival of two IP attorneys to our Paris office, Catherine Muyl and Alice Berendes. We asked them to tell us a few things we may not know about trademarks in France. Here they are:
On the French territory, two types of marks coexist: French trademarks issued by the French Trademark Office (INPI),… More
Political Speech, Trademarks And The Definition of “Goods or Services”
Last month witnessed the resolution of two trademark infringement cases involving the relationship between political activities and the definition of “goods or services.” On May 18, 2015, State Senator Steve Hershey gave up his right to appeal to the Fourth Circuit from the District of Maryland’s decision that he was infringing the Hershey Chocolate trade dress. On May 19, 2015, however, the Fourth Circuit overturned the case on which the District of Maryland had been relying.… More