Intellectual Property

  • Fifty Dollars a Signature: The Continued Rise of Trademark Filing Mills

    Fifty Dollars a Signature: The Continued Rise of Trademark Filing Mills

    Anthony Cartee

    ·

    Fifty dollars a signature. That’s what one company offered me for putting my name, and my law license, on up to 150 U.S. trademark applications a month. I said no. A few attorneys who get that same offer don’t. What They Were Actually Asking For This wasn’t really an offer to hire an attorney. It was an offer to rent one. Click approve, and their system would enter all the application information and file with the USPTO, no real review required beyond that single click. Three to five minutes per case, they told me, and the status updates would take… Read More

  • A Rose By Any Other Name … But Likely Not a Trademark

    A Rose By Any Other Name … But Likely Not a Trademark

    Anthony Cartee

    ·

    Trademark a plant? Trademarks have helped create value for all sorts of products. However, may a living thing such as a plant variety that you have bred and created be trademarked? Can You Trademark a Plant? Generally, the answer is no. It is nearly impossible to trademark a plant. Varietal or cultivar names are designations given to cultivated varieties or subspecies of live plants or agricultural seeds and they amount to the generic name of the plant or seed by which such variety is known to the consumer. In re Pennington Seed Co. (2006) 466 F.3d 1053. The Ineligibility of… Read More

  • No Damages, Big Problem: Infringement Claims Lacking Cognizable Injury

    No Damages, Big Problem: Infringement Claims Lacking Cognizable Injury

    Anthony Cartee

    ·

    No Damages, No Case? The Importance of Cognizable Damages in Trademark Infringement Claims In a highly competitive marketplace, established companies sometimes use a variety of means to suppress emerging companies and its branding that may or may not threaten their own market share. Often, lawsuits for trademark infringement claims end upon enjoining the defendant infringer. However, companies always press for monetary damages as well, but a prevailing plaintiff is not automatically entitled to such an award. See 15 U.S.C. § 1117(a). As an accused infringer, it is important to be aware of options that may be useful in defending yourself… Read More

  • Fair and Foul in Tech and Copyright

    Fair and Foul in Tech and Copyright

    Anthony Cartee

    ·

    In a world of bustling creativity and a thriving technology industry, it is essential for businesses and startup companies to be wary of copyright issues. Generally, copyright protection is automatic and provides the author exclusive rights to reproduce and distribute the work. However, copyright owners are only entitled to bring a claim for infringement against others if they have registered their copyrighted work. Those who do can then go after infringers who face statutory penalties and damages ranging from $500.00 to $150,000 per work for willful infringement. This does not include other remedies including infringer’s profits, injunctions, actual damages, and… Read More

  • TTAB Decisions have Preclusive Effect on Later Litigation

    TTAB Decisions have Preclusive Effect on Later Litigation

    Anthony Cartee

    ·

    TTAB Decisions Have Preclusive Effect on Later Litigation TTAB Decisions – In yet another intellectual property-focused case, the Supreme Court has ruled that a decision by the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (TTAB) may have a binding, preclusive effect on later litigation in a federal district court. The opinion came with a narrowed focus, allowing preclusion for issues adjudicated by the TTAB that are “materially the same” to those the parties take to the federal court, if the “other ordinary elements of issue preclusion” are also met. (Read the full opinion here) The parties in B&B Hardware v. Hargis Industries… Read More

  • SCOTUS Ushers in New Year with Trademark Ruling

    SCOTUS Ushers in New Year with Trademark Ruling

    Anthony Cartee

    ·

    SCOTUS Ushers in New Year with Trademark Ruling Trademark Ruling – With the New Year comes new decisions being handed down by the Supreme Court, and there have already been a handful related to intellectual property. You may remember our earlier case preview for Hana Financial v. Hana Bank in which the Supreme Court would decide whether trademark tacking was a question for the judge or jury. The Court issued its unanimous decision in January ruling that tacking is a question of fact to be decided by the jury. (Read the full opinion here) Tacking is a doctrine that allows… Read More

  • Intellectual Property Law – No Dull Moments

    Intellectual Property Law – No Dull Moments

    Anthony Cartee

    ·

    Intellectual Property Law – No Dull Moments Intellectual Property Law – With Labor Day quickly approaching, and Back-to-Work and Back-to-School mentality haunting many of our minds, it’s a good time to reflect on what’s transpired in the IP world so far this year. From the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (TTAB) revoking the Redskins’ registered trademark, to Aereo taking a hit in the U.S. Supreme Court over copyright in the clouds, the courts have had their hands full with intellectual property issues this year, and given the ever-changing landscapes we face business and technology wise, it doesn’t look like this… Read More

  • Three Intellectual Property Protections

    Three Intellectual Property Protections

    Anthony Cartee

    ·

    Three Intellectual Property Protections – Navigating Different IP Protections Three Intellectual Property Protections – You now have a business and with it, a whole lot of ideas on how to brand it, market it, and make big waves in the industry. But how do you navigate the different types of intellectual property regimes to go about protecting your ideas? There are three Intellectual Property protections (technically four Intellectual Property protections if you count trade secrets, but we’ll cover that in a future post) that are available to you, provided that your idea meets the provisions. They are (1) patents, (2)… Read More