On June 23, the citizens of the UK voted Yes to the question “Should the UK leave the European Union?” Here are some answers to questions that we are hearing from trademark owners.
Question 1. Is now a good time to panic?
Uncertainty creates stress but we have at least one certainty: from a strictly legal point of view, there will be no immediate impact.… More
In our annual Trademark Year in Wine and Beer, we discussed Oakville Hills Cellar v. Georgallis Holdings LLC, in which the application of Georgallis (doing business as Kissos Wines) to register MAYARI for wine was opposed by Oakville (doing business as Dalla Valle Vineyards), holder of the MAYA mark for wine. To keep things simple,… More
Updated June 24, 2016
A few hours ago, citizens of the United Kingdom voted in favor of leaving the European Union. This is a monumental step which historians will analyze in order to understand why and how it became possible. In the meantime, lawyers will have to figure out the consequences, including how to untangle this 60 year-old relationship.
European patents should not be affected by Brexit because the Munich Convention is not a European Union instrument.… More
In Kirtsaeng v. John Wiley & Sons, Inc., the Supreme Court clarified the test for awarding attorney’s fees when applying the Copyright Act’s discretionary fee-shifting provision, 17 U.S.C. § 505. The Court held that the objective reasonableness of a losing party’s position should be given “substantial weight”—but not necessarily control—the outcome of a fee petition. The lower courts had varied considerably in their approach to the discretionary fee-shifting analysis. … More
Let’s face it, we live in a food-crazed world. Our current preoccupation with food has less to do with eating it; we also are fascinated with looking at it. Posting photos of food on Instagram is now a universal pastime. Food reality shows like Top Chef, Cake Boss, and Chopped are extremely popular and chefs are now considered bona fide celebrities,… More
David Kluft, co-editor of the Trademark and Copyright Law Blog and Intellectual Property partner at Foley Hoag LLP, will be speaking at the 19th Annual New England Intellectual Property Law Conference. The conference, sponsored by Massachusetts Continuing Legal Education, will take place beginning at 12:30pm on June 23, 2016 at the MCLE Conference Center, Ten Winter Place in Boston. … More
International Information Systems Security Certification Consortium (known as ISC2) is a non-profit organization that owns a registered certification mark for the term CISSP® (meaning “Certified Information Systems Professional”). In 2010, ISC2 sued Security University, a for-profit company that provides training in this field, because Security University described its lead instructor as a “Master CISSP®” or a “CISSP® Master.” Although these advertisements had disclaimers stating that the Security University classes were “not endorsed,… More
June 2016
Welcome to Trademark Red Tape, our periodic round-up of trademark news and happenings at the United States Patent & Trademark Office. Here are the highlights:
France is often presented as a country which is quite protective of IP owners, especially in the field of trademarks and copyright. However, a recent decision rendered by the Paris District Court in relation to a portrait of Jimi Hendrix clearly goes in the opposite direction.
Gered Mankowitz is an English photographer who is the author of many portraits of pop and rock stars,… More