Region: United States of America

Nike will need to “cool” off after a recent Third Circuit ruling

The US Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit has held Nike liable for trademark infringement over the use of Lontex’s COOL COMPRESSION trademark in its apparel line descriptions. Under plenary review and abuse of discretion, the Third Circuit reviewed the lower court’s decision on whether a jury could find infringement.

31 July 2024

FTC urged to enforce INFORM, Taiwan revises dispute guidelines, Poland amends copyright law – legislation and policy watch (July 2024)

WTR’s monthly column tracks trademark and related policy developments, including the progress of major bills, from around the world.

29 July 2024

TTAB upholds refusal of BRONKO mark

The decision underscores the importance of clear and precise identification of goods in trademark applications, and serves as a reminder to applicants to thoroughly address all grounds for refusal during the prosecution process.

29 July 2024

Why a Japanese nail care machine maker sued its only US distributor over the colour purple

A lawyer for Japanese corporation Urawa explains the steps the company took after discovering its exclusive US distributor had filed a purple colour mark without its knowledge.

25 July 2024

Claiming X: lessons from the controversial rebrand that cost Twitter $3.2 billion in brand value

With Elon Musk’s X Corp facing litigation in the United States, a registration refusal at the EUIPO and a loss of $3.2 billion in Twitter/X brand value, experts reflect on the company’s current brand strategy – and the challenges of promoting and protecting a single letter mark like X.

24 July 2024

Over 8,000 USPTO employees hit by CrowdStrike, Microsoft tech outage – IP office updates

In our latest update, thousands of USPTO employees remain offline since last week's global tech outage; meanwhile, the DPMA is no longer accepting filings from Russia, KIPO welcomes its new commissioner, and more.

24 July 2024

Olympic Committee sues Prime; fake LEGO seizures; Google settles Vizier row – news digest

In our latest news round-up, we look at 14 sports brands, including New York Knicks, being sued by music publishers, the European Anti-fraud Office dismantling a large-scale counterfeit spirits smuggling scheme, and more.

23 July 2024

TTAB affirms SMARTLOCK cancellation in first appeal arising from expungement proceeding

In the TTAB’s first decision in an appeal arising from an expungement proceeding, the board affirmed the USPTO director’s decision to cancel registrations for the mark SMARTLOCK for “components for air conditioning and cooling systems, namely, evaporative air coolers”.

22 July 2024

“Amazon is trademark law”: America’s favourite company has changed the entire trademark system

A new academic paper argues that Amazon has upended the US trademark system with little public recognition, and that questions about trademark law in the modern age need answering.

20 July 2024

Ford, GM, Stellantis: where two of the auto 'big three' are showing new US enforcement focuses

Litigation data analysis reveals which of the biggest US car makers have increased domestic enforcement activity in the past two years – and to what success.

19 July 2024