Cloobeck v. Antonio R. Villaraigosa, et al. was an attempt to apply the Lanham Act in a political setting rather than a commercial one. Stephen Cloobeck and Antonio Villaraigosa were both running for governor in California (Cloobeck has since dropped out) before Cloobeck sued Villaraigosa for trademark infringement and unfair competition under the Lanham Act.…
Wildbird Llc. v. Wildride B. V. was an action in the Southern District of New York concerning two sets of trademarks (word marks and logos) that start with the same word: Wild. Both companies make wearable carriers for children; the plaintiff makes cinchable, cloth baby carriers while the defendant makes carriers for toddlers that have…
Sonate Corporation d/b/a Vegedelphia Foods v. Beyond Meat is a tale of two trademarks separated by the same words. Vegedelphia registered the trademark WHERE GREAT TASTE IS PLANT-BASED in 2015. Its business is selling meat-substitute products to restaurants and distributors. The mark was used on its wholesale packaging, website, and promotional merchandise. After a supply…
Trader Joe’s Company v. Trader Joe’s United is a trademark dispute wrapped in a labor relations case — or the other way around. A three-judge panel at the Ninth Circuit found the latter to be true, reversing the Central District of California’s deference to the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) over trademark infringement claims. Trader…
Apple v. ZeroDensity was a civil action in the Eastern District of Virginia in which Apple appealed a TTAB ruling. ZeroDensity, which had applied to register the marks REALITYHUB, REALITY ENGINE, and REALITY KEYER, filed an opposition to two of Apple’s trademark applications, REALITY COMPOSER and REALITY CONVERTER. Alleging that Apple’s marks were merely descriptive,…
Di Reed v. Marshall et al. was a case that originated in the Southern District of Texas and made its way to the Fifth Circuit. The parties consisted of members of a vocal group known as Jade that was popular in the nineties, along with an additional singer being named as a defendant. Jade in…
I had always wondered how the TTAB could know whether someone had a sufficient intent, and that question was answered in a case called Tequila Cuadra S. de RL de CV v. Manufacturera de Botas Cuadra, S.A. de C.V. The presumption that the applicant intended to use the trademark CUADRA was toppled by another company…
BBK Tobacco and Foods v. Central Coast Agricultural Inc. was a case in the District of Arizona set in the now-familiar landscape of cannabis-related IP disputes. BBK manufactures smoke-related products such as rolling papers bearing the trademark RAW, and Central Coast Agricultural, Inc. (CCA) markets and sells cannabis products — and attempted to register the…
When we first met the client, the former attorney for Backyard Brine (“BB”) had sent a demand letter to Backyard Food Company (“BFC”), saying that BFC’s name was confusingly similar to their own, especially in connection with pickle products. BB sent the demand letter the day after learning about BFC’s using its trademark in connection…
In Thumbtack v. Liaison, plaintiff sued for copyright infringement and trade dress infringement for allegedly copying its website. The Northern District of California granted in part the motion to dismiss, because many of the plaintiff’s claims were too vague to address. The court pointed to things in Thumbtack’s exhibits, like circling part of an exhibit without…