Just over a year ago, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit held that a century-old ban prohibiting the United States Patent and Trademark Office (PTO) from registering “scandalous” and “immoral” trademarks violates the First Amendment.
Last week, the Supreme Court granted certiorari to determine whether they agree that the so-called “Scandalous Clause”
It is not often that a court of law can issue a landmark opinion laden with profanity and sexual innuendos. But last Friday, the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit seized the opportunity in a colorful decision holding the refusal of the United States Patent
Fox associates Megan Center and Elizabeth Patton wrote a duo of posts for Fox’s advertising law blog Above the Fold examining a trademark dispute surrounding the term “Coachella.” The case relates to entertainment festivals not associated with the organizers of the well-known annual event in Indio, California. As Megan lays out in her post:
I’ve blogged here and here about the pending trademark infringement case brought by SDCC, the registered owners of the San Diego Comic-Con mark, against the producers of Salt Lake Comic Con. The Utah group had launched an aggressive social media campaign to
The stakes just raised in an imminent trial over the validity of the San Diego Comic-Con trademark. What started out as a straightforward trademark dispute has now implicated First Amendment free speech issues.
The underlying case involves an action by SDCC, which
A federal judge in San Diego has cleared for trial a case that may strip San Diego Comic-Con from trademark protection.
First, some background. Even a registered trademark such as Comic-Con can lose protection if it becomes generic, that is, if consumers
Charlie Nelson Keever writes:
The Supreme Court ruled this morning that a federal law that prohibits the government from registering trademarks that “disparage” others violates the First Amendment.
Members of an Asian-American rock band filed a lawsuit after the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (PTO) kept the band from registering its name, The Slants, a
The iconic American rock band The Eagles released its platinum album “Hotel California” in December of 1976. It sold more than 32 million copies worldwide and its title track “Hotel California” achieved legendary status. Over four decades later, it appears the “lovely place” on a “dark desert highway”
In early February, a court in the United Kingdom held that the title of the television show “Glee” infringed and tarnished the trademark of a local music and comedy club. The plaintiff, Comic Enterprises, is a small U.K. company that for around 20 years