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Mealey's Trademarks

  • December 19, 2025

    Judge Says Amazon Policy Expert Admitted To Testify In Trademark Dispute

    MIAMI — A retained expert can testify on Amazon policies, a Florida federal judge has ruled, rejecting pleas from a company that alleges that unauthorized products were sold online and that argued that the testimony was inadmissible under Federal Rule of Evidence 702.

  • December 19, 2025

    2nd Circuit: Hague Convention Bars Email Service To Accused ‘Baby Shark’ Copiers

    NEW YORK — A New York federal judge rightly dismissed China-based defendants from an intellectual property suit brought by the company behind the children’s viral song “Baby Shark,” a Second Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel ruled Dec. 18; the panel agreed with the judge on a matter of first impression for the appeals court that email service to entities in China is not permissible under the Hague Service Convention.

  • December 18, 2025

    Judge Trims Trademark Claims From Dispute Over Cookware Design Ownership

    NEW YORK — In a dispute over trademarks associated with Scandinavian kitchenware brand Dansk, a New York federal judge dismissed trademark infringement and false advertising claims, holding that the plaintiff entity failed to show that it had used or intended to use the marks at issue after being assigned them.

  • December 17, 2025

    TTAB Denial Of ‘Basin Beverage Co.’ Mark Affirmed By Federal Circuit

    WASHINGTON, D.C. — A Federal Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel affirmed the U.S. Trademark Trial and Appeal Board’s (TTAB) decision to deny a man’s multiple-class application for the mark “Basin Beverage Co.,” holding that substantial evidence supported the TTAB’s finding that the proposed mark could be confused with multiple trademarks already in use.

  • December 12, 2025

    Judge Says Expert Can Opine On Damages In Dispute Over Michael Jordan Trademarks

    SAN DIEGO — A California federal judge ruled that an expert retained by a manufacturer of trading cards and other sports memorabilia can opine on the fair market value of a company’s alleged unauthorized use of Michael Jordan’s distinctive and valuable trademarks.

  • December 12, 2025

    Federal Circuit Affirms TTAB’s Cancellation Of ‘More Than An Athlete’ Marks

    WASHINGTON, D.C. — A Federal Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel affirmed the Trademark  Trial and Appeal Board’s (TTAB) decision to cancel a sports-based nonprofit organization’s trademarks containing the phrase “more than an athlete,” agreeing that a LeBron James-founded company had shown that it acquired common-law rights to a similar phrase earlier than the nonprofit’s registration.

  • December 11, 2025

    2nd Circuit: Figures In Lego IP Row Fall Under Earlier Injunction

    NEW YORK — A Second Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel again held Dec. 10 that it lacked appellate jurisdiction to consider a Connecticut federal judge’s ruling that a toy company’s redesigned figurines still ran afoul of a preliminary injunction previously ordered in an intellectual property dispute with Lego A/S and affiliated Lego entities (collectively, Lego).

  • December 10, 2025

    Federal Circuit Reverses TTAB Rejection Of Tea-Based Mark For Coffee Shop Name

    WASHINGTON, D.C. — A Federal Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel on Dec. 9 reversed a decision from the U.S. Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (TTAB) rejecting a coffee company’s application for a trademark on the name “Kahwa” as the name of coffee shops; the panel said there was no evidence in the record that the word for a type of tea would be understood by customers as a generic term for coffee shops.

  • December 08, 2025

    Fla. Federal Judge Rules That Dueling Experts Can Testify In Trademark Row

    MIAMI — All opposing experts in a trademark dispute pending in a Florida federal court can testify, a judge ruled, finding that the arguments for exclusion under Federal Rule of Evidence 702 and Daubert v. Merrell Dow Pharmaceuticals Inc. can best be resolved through cross-examination.

  • December 08, 2025

    Federal Magistrate Judge Recommends Final Judgment For Lilly In Trademark Dispute

    TAMPA, Fla. — A federal magistrate judge recommended that a Florida federal court grant Eli Lilly & Co.’s motion for a default final judgment after finding that a cosmetic weight loss center likely infringed on trademarks held by the company while selling a compounded version of tirzepatide.

  • December 05, 2025

    Judge Rebukes AI Use By Plaintiff In Counterfeiting Suit Against New Balance

    LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — An “experienced” pro se litigant’s response to New Balance Athletics Inc.’s motion to dismiss his trademark infringement suit was riddled with factual errors, thanks to his use of a generative artificial intelligence (AI) program in drafting the response, an Arkansas federal judge held; the judge struck the response to the motion but also denied the motion itself.

  • December 05, 2025

    9th Circuit Affirms TRO Enjoining OpenAI From Use Of ‘IO’ Mark

    SAN FRANCISCO — A Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel affirmed a California federal judge’s decision to grant a temporary restraining order (TRO) that bars a company recently purchased by ChatGPT-maker OpenAI LLC from using marks that could potentially cause confusion with another technology company with a similarly pronounced name.

  • December 05, 2025

    John R. Cash Trust Sues Coca-Cola Over ‘Infringing Ad’ In NCAA Marketing Campaign

    NASHVILLE, Tenn. — The John R. Cash Revocable Trust sued The Coca-Cola Co. in a Tennessee federal court, alleging violation of state laws and the Lanham Act over Coca-Cola’s “Infringing Ad” allegedly using a singing voice that is “identifiable and attributable to Johnny Cash” without permission in a 2025 NCAA college football advertising campaign on television networks and across social media platforms.

  • December 04, 2025

    9th Circuit: Judge Right To Toss ‘Diva Lawyer’ Mark Suit For Lack Of Jurisdiction

    SAN FRANCISCO — A Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel on Dec. 3 affirmed a California federal judge’s decision to dismiss a California-based club’s trademark infringement suit against a Kentucky-based attorney over the use of the name “Diva Attorney,” agreeing with the judge that the club failed to show that the attorney had sufficient contacts with California to establish specific personal jurisdiction.

  • December 03, 2025

    Preliminary Injunction Left Intact In IP Row Over Game Emulation Software

    SAN DIEGO — A California federal judge denied video game emulation software developers’ motion to reconsider a decision to grant a video game publisher’s request for a preliminary injunction in a dispute over trademarks and copyrights related to the video game EverQuest, finding that the defendants “essentially argue the Court was wrong in its decision” without further evidence.

  • December 01, 2025

    Judge: N.J. Hotel Must Pay Nearly $1.4 Million For Econo Lodge Infringement

    CAMDEN, N.J. — A New Jersey federal judge granted summary judgment to the hotel company behind Econo Lodge, finding that the undisputed record showed that holdover franchisees continued to use trademarks related to the brand years after the termination of a franchise agreement, ordering the defendant entities to pay just short of $1.4 million in monetary damages, disgorgement and costs.

  • November 24, 2025

    High Court Won’t Hear Glovemaker’s Color Mark Genericness Arguments

    WASHINGTON, D.C. — A medical product company will not have the opportunity to argue that its proposed trademark on the color of its medical gloves is not generic, as the U.S. Supreme Court rejected its petition for a writ of certiorari in a Nov. 24 order list; the Federal Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals affirmed the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office’s (PTO) finding that the proposed mark was not distinctive.

  • November 21, 2025

    No Attorney Fees To Sports Medicine Company Cleared Of Infringement

    TAMPA, Fla. — A federal judge in Florida denied a plaintiff sports medicine company’s motion for attorney fees, holding that its trademark dispute with another sports medicine company was not “exceptional” as defined in the Lanham Act despite the judge’s earlier grant of summary judgment in the plaintiff’s favor that led to an order canceling the defendant entity’s federally registered trademark.

  • November 20, 2025

    Campbell’s, Candidate For Congress Settle Suit Over Can Marks Use

    ANN ARBOR, Mich. — A candidate for Congress seeking to represent parts of Detroit and The Campbell’s Soup Co. settled their trademark dispute in a Michigan federal court, with the candidate agreeing to remove from her social media images that referenced the company’s soup can; the candidate had argued that her use of the can design was a parodic reference to her own last name.

  • November 17, 2025

    Canadian AI Company Must Face Copyright Claims, Federal Judge Says

    NEW YORK — Canadian artificial intelligence company Cohere Inc. must face news publishers’ allegations that its Command product outputs copyrighted works and misattributes trademarks, a federal judge in New York said in denying a motion for partial dismissal.

  • November 14, 2025

    11th Circuit: Edible Arrangements’ Prior Claims Don’t Bar New IP Suit

    ATLANTA — An 11th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel reversed a Georgia federal judge’s grant of summary judgment in favor of 1-800-Flowers.com Inc. in a trademark dispute brought by competitor Edible Arrangements LLC, finding that the appellant company’s most recent trademark infringement claims were not released by a 2016 settlement between the companies.

  • November 14, 2025

    Candidate Named Campbell Seeks Dismissal Of Soup Company’s IP Suit

    ANN ARBOR, Mich. — A candidate for Congress seeking to represent parts of Detroit is asking a federal judge in Michigan to dismiss a trademark infringement complaint filed against her by The Campbell’s Co. and a related entity, contending that her use of the company’s soup can design on social media is a parodic reference to her own last name; she also seeks the rejection of the company’s motion for a preliminary injunction.

  • November 13, 2025

    Judge Trims Trade Dress Claim From Insurance Platform Copying Suit

    NEW YORK — A New York federal judge granted a defendant insurance company’s motion to partially dismiss a plaintiff technology company’s claim of trade dress infringement, agreeing with the insurer that the elements of the claimed trade dress were not adequately described in the technology company’s complaint that alleges “unauthorized cloning” of its online insurance platform.

  • November 13, 2025

    Federal Judge: No Preliminary Injunction In Row Over ‘Wild’ Trademarks

    NEW YORK — A federal judge in New York denied a preliminary injunction motion from a baby-goods maker that uses the trademark “Wildbird,” finding that the company failed to show it was likely that another baby-goods maker’s use of the marks related to the name “Wildride” would cause confusion among customers.

  • November 06, 2025

    Federal Judge Trims Some Defenses From ‘Impossible’ Trademark Row

    SAN JOSE, Calif. — A California federal judge partly granted summary judgment in favor of Impossible Foods Inc. in a dispute over the use of the word mark “Impossible,” agreeing that all of a defendant website entity’s affirmative defenses and certain of its damages theories failed, including its contention that Impossible’s suit was unreasonably delayed.