A small Pennsylvania-based company, Lontex, is taking on Nike over a trademark infringement claim. Lontex specializes in compression technology for sportswear, marketed under the Sweat It Out brand. They developed a unique line of clothing featuring “Cool...
Trademark
An AI Tool By Any Other Name… Would Have Circumvented This Lawsuit against Google for Trademark Infringement
A long-standing trend of the tech world is “industry disruption,” which often takes the form of taking action first and dealing with legal consequences later, whether that is new regulations to contain Uber and Lyft or judicial rulings reigning in trademark...
Why Did Prime Hydration’s New Drink Result in a Lawsuit from the Olympic Committee?
Every time the Olympics come around, they become the focus of the whole world. Literally billions of people watch broadcasts of the games, and people everywhere are excited to show support for their country’s athletes. All of this attention means that businesses...
Domain Name Disputes: How to Protect Your Business From Cybersquatting
One interesting trend in my legal practice in recent years has been the rise of trademark dispute cases over domain names – the catchy, easy-to-remember online address of a business, like “southwest.com.” Perhaps this is not surprising, as much of our commerce these...
After Failing to Protect Their Name in Indian Trial Court, Burger King Is Getting a Second Chance from the High Court
The following case comes with a few IP law reminders. First, where trademarks are concerned, location and timing matter. Second, it is possible for both sides to lose in a trademark lawsuit. And finally, when the battle is between David and Goliath, sometimes David...
Crystal Broughan: Video Series – How much does it cost to register my trademark? – Episode 6 | Notice of Opposition and Petition to Cancel
Petition to Cancel The trademark owner may need to file a Petition to Cancel another trademark registration if a prior registration is preventing the registration of your trademark. This is possible if your trademark has priority in commerce or if the other trademark...
Crimson Tide vs. 4Aces: University of Alabama Files Trademark Opposition
We have covered many trademark opposition cases on this blog. A trademark opposition arises when a trademark application for a logo or brand name that looks and/or sounds too similar to a registered trademark is opposed by the owner of the trademark registration. The...
A Tale of Two “Whataburgers” in North Carolina: Whataburger vs. What-A-Burger #13
In the landscape of trademarks, a point of tension exists between small and large businesses. Namely, well-funded corporations have the resources to dominate trademark real estate and to go after competitors. Yet, trademark names are limited. Trademarks of similar...