Bogus trademark infringement threats violated the First Amendment

In 2011, two women established a public Facebook group where parents and community members could discuss matters related to the Los Lunas, New Mexico school district. This online forum served as a space for open dialogue about local education issues for seven years before drawing administrative attention. In 2018, the district's superintendent discovered the group [...]

By |2025-03-12T12:57:34-05:00March 12th, 2025|Infringement, Trademarks|Comments Off on Bogus trademark infringement threats violated the First Amendment

Supreme Court decision on trademark damages protects corporate affiliates from infringement claims

A long-running trademark case between two real estate companies over the mark DEWBERRY reached the U.S. Supreme Court, which ruled that the lower court improperly awarded profits from non-party companies. The decision clarified that only a named defendant's profits – not those of its affiliates – can be recovered in a trademark infringement case. The [...]

By |2025-02-26T10:59:19-06:00February 26th, 2025|Infringement, Litigation, Trademarks|Comments Off on Supreme Court decision on trademark damages protects corporate affiliates from infringement claims

Fourth Circuit reverses lower court’s decision in online copyright infringement case

Plaintiff photographer sued defendant news website for copyright infringement over a photo of Ted Nugent that defendant used in an online article. The lower court granted summary judgment for defendant, finding that its use of the photo was fair use. Plaintiff sought review with the Fourth Circuit. On review, the court reversed, applying the factors set out [...]

By |2024-02-09T14:46:36-06:00February 7th, 2024|Copyright|Comments Off on Fourth Circuit reverses lower court’s decision in online copyright infringement case

Online platforms will have to answer for online sales of alleged counterfeit products

A federal court in New York has denied the motion to dismiss filed by Chinese online platforms Alibaba and AliExpress in a lawsuit brought by a toymaker alleging that these companies’ merchant customers were engaged in contributory trademark and copyright infringement through the online sale of counterfeit products. Background of the Case Plaintiff toymaker accused [...]

By |2023-12-28T09:25:05-06:00December 28th, 2023|Copyright, Couterfeiting, Trademarks|Comments Off on Online platforms will have to answer for online sales of alleged counterfeit products

Profit-Motivated Jokers Beware: Key Takeaways From Jack Daniel’s v. VIP Products

In a highly anticipated decision, the Supreme Court in the case of Jack Daniel’s Properties, Inc. v. VIP Products LLC recently weighed in on the applicability of the Rogers test [1] and the fair-use exemption from trademark dilution liability. Justice Kagan, writing for the unanimous court, held that “when an alleged infringer uses a trademark as a designation of [...]

By |2023-06-09T13:23:34-05:00June 9th, 2023|Infringement, Lanham Act|Comments Off on Profit-Motivated Jokers Beware: Key Takeaways From Jack Daniel’s v. VIP Products
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