IP & Technology Law Trends
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Supreme Court Expands Rights to Register Domain Names as Trademarks
The United States Supreme Court issued a decision on June 30, 2020, holding that “Booking.com” can be registered as a trademark. The decision, United States Patent and Trademark Office, et al, vs. Booking.com B. V., reverses longstanding Trademark Of...
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First Amendment Beats Trademark Rights Three Times in One Day
Trademarks protect against consumer confusion. But the First Amendment protects speech even when it may result in some confusion. When these two principles intersect, trademark holders may be surprised to find that the First Amendment often wins. In...
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Your Trademark Just Became More Valuable: Romag Fasteners, Inc. v. Fossil Group, Inc.
Under the Lanham Act, a trademark owner can recover damages (i.e., the owners lost sales because of infringement), but also is entitled to disgorgement of the infringer’s profits from the infringement. But typically (at least in the Ninth Circuit), i...
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Supreme Court Reinforces Position That the Patent Office Has the Final Say on Whether to Initiate an Inter Partes Review
On April 20, 2020, the U.S. Supreme Court decided that the USPTO’s decision to institute inter partes review, even after the one-year statutory time limit for requesting the review, is not appealable. In other words, the USPTO has the final say for a...
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U.S. Patent and Trademark Office Increases Extensions to Deadlines under the CARES Act
Apr 29, 2020
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As a further update to earlier posts regarding recent actions taken by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the USPTO announced this week an increased extension of time for the filing of various pat...
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Stop Price Gouging Using Trademark Law? 3M Says Yes and Court Agrees
In early April, 3M filed a lawsuit against Performance Supply LLC of New Jersey for violating trademark law because they were reselling N95 masks they had purchased from 3M at more than a 500% markup (3M Co. v. Performance Supply LLC, SDNY No. 1:20-c...
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