Karen Gover
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“Conquesting”: Use of Rival’s Name as Keyword Search Term Isn’t Actionable Under Lanham Act
By Karen Gover on Nov 7, 2024
Posted In Trademarks
Noting how rare it is for trademark infringement cases to be decided on summary judgment, the US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit affirmed a district court’s grant of summary judgment finding that the plaintiff law firm failed to establish a likelihood of consumer confusion by virtue of the defendant’s purchase of a keyword...
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Promises, Promises: Covenant Not to Sue for Patent Infringement Includes Downstream Users
By Karen Gover on Oct 31, 2024
Posted In Patents
The US Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit affirmed that a district court did not err in applying ordinary rules of contract construction to a covenant not to sue and properly found that under the patent exhaustion doctrine, the covenant encompassed downstream users. Fuel Automation Station, LLC v. Energera Inc., Case Nos. 23-1123; -1358...
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What a Croc! False Claim That Product Feature Is Patented Can Give Rise to Lanham Act Violation
By Karen Gover on Oct 17, 2024
Posted In Trademarks
The US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit reversed and remanded a grant of summary judgment on a false advertising claim, concluding that a cause of action under Section 43(a) of the Lanham Act can arise when a party falsely claims to hold a patent on a product feature and advertises that feature in...
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Chickening Out: Reason for Trademark Abandonment Irrelevant Without Proof of Intent to Resume
By Karen Gover on Oct 3, 2024
Posted In Trademarks
The US Court of Appeals for the First Circuit affirmed a district court’s summary judgment decision finding that the prior owner of a trademark for fresh chicken had abandoned the mark by failing to use it for three years and failing to show an intent to resume use of the mark. To-Ricos, Ltd. v. Productos...
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Dolly Pardon: American Girl Can Sue Foreign Counterfeiter for Internet Sales
By Karen Gover on Sep 26, 2024
Posted In Copyrights, Trademarks
The US Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit clarified its standards for establishing personal jurisdiction over foreign defendants that conduct business over the internet. American Girl, LLC v. Zembrka, DBA www.zembrka.com; www.daibh-idh.com, Case No. 21-1381 (2d Cir. Sept. 17, 2024) (Cabranes, Parker, Kahn, JJ.) In 2021, American Girl, the famous doll manufacturer, filed suit...
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Rebel Libertarians Aren’t at Liberty to Violate Lanham Act
By Karen Gover on Sep 5, 2024
Posted In Trademarks
In a case that required the US Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit to articulate the boundary between the Lanham Act and the First Amendment when the trademark in question is the name of a political party, the Court found that the Lanham Act can constitutionally apply to use of the mark and that...
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Insuring Innovation: Software Code May Be Protected as an Arrangement
By Karen Gover on Aug 22, 2024
Posted In Copyrights, Trade Secrets
The US Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit once again remanded a trade secret and copyright dispute involving software for generating life insurance quotes, finding that the district court erred by failing to consider the copyrightability of the source code’s arrangement. As to the trade secret claim, however, the Eleventh Circuit found that the...
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Don’t Share Trade Secrets With Your Fiancé: A Cautionary Tale
By Karen Gover on Aug 15, 2024
Posted In Trade Secrets
The US Court of Appeals for the First Circuit largely affirmed a multimillion-dollar award against a temp agency for misappropriation of trade secrets and unjust enrichment due to its employee’s act of obtaining proprietary information from his fiancée, who worked at a competitor placement firm. BioPoint, Inc. v. Dickhaut, et al., Case No. 23-1575 (1st...
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David-Versus-Goliath Trademark Victory Isn’t Necessarily “Exceptional”
By Karen Gover on Jul 25, 2024
Posted In Trademarks
The US Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit vacated an award of attorneys’ fees for reanalysis, explaining that the district court’s finding that the case was “exceptional” under the Lanham Act was based on policy considerations rather than the totality of the circumstances. Lontex Corp. v. Nike, Inc., Case Nos. 22-1417; -1418 (3rd Cir....
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Smart Choice: Survey Design Didn’t Render Survey Unreliable
By Karen Gover on Jul 18, 2024
Posted In Trademarks
Underscoring its faith in a jury’s competency to use its “common sense and experience” in evaluating evidence, the US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit affirmed a district court’s judgment in favor of the defendants in a trademark infringement action following a trial, as well as its order partially denying the defendants’ motion for...
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