Sarah Bro
Subscribe to Sarah Bro's PostsSarah Bro is the office managing partner for the Firm’s Orange County office. She focuses her practice on trademark prosecution, enforcement and brand portfolio management, as well as licensing, due diligence, copyright, right of publicity and domain name matters. Read Sarah Bro's full bio.
Big Little Lies: Guidelines for Challenging Trademark Acquired Distinctiveness Claims
By Sarah Bro on Dec 2, 2021
Posted In Trademarks
For the second time, the US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit examined the standard for demonstrating fraud in a party’s claim of a trademark’s acquired distinctiveness for purposes of registration under Section 2(f) of the Lanham Act. The Federal Circuit found that a party challenging an applicant’s Section 2(f) claim based on substantially...
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US Lawyers Aiding Scam Trademark Applications May Face Sanctions
By Sarah Bro on Oct 28, 2021
Posted In Trademarks
As reported by the US Patent & Trademark Office (PTO) this past summer, since mid-2020 trademark applications from US and foreign applicants have “surged to unprecedented levels.” In December 2020 alone, the PTO received 92,608 trademark applications, an increase of 172% over December 2019. Not only has this extraordinary volume of applications created a backlog...
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Second Circuit: Supreme Court Google Precedent Doesn’t Alter Copyright Law’s Fair Use Analysis
By Sarah Bro on Sep 2, 2021
Posted In Copyrights
Addressing fair use as an affirmative defense to copyright infringement, the US Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit amended its recent opinion, reversing a district court’s summary judgment in favor of fair use. The Court did not change its original judgment but took the opportunity to address the recent Supreme Court of the United...
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Third Circuit Orders Second Look at Delays and Disgorgement of Profits
By Sarah Bro on Aug 26, 2021
Posted In Trademarks
In a long-running trademark dispute between two charitable organizations, the US Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit found that the appellee did not preserve its challenge to the district court’s denial of summary judgment on its trademark cancelation claims, the appellant waived any challenge to the validity of the defendant’s mark and the district...
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Don’t Count Your Lamborghinis Before Your Trademark is in Use
By Sarah Bro on Jul 22, 2021
Posted In Trademarks
The US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit affirmed a grant of summary judgment, finding that a trademark registrant had alleged infringement of its trademark without having engaged in bona fide use of the trademark in commerce, as required by the Lanham Act. The Court found no material issue of fact as to whether...
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Purple Pain: Warhol’s Prince Series Isn’t Fair Use of Photographer’s Image
By Sarah Bro on Apr 8, 2021
Posted In Copyrights
In a case spanning nearly 40 years of art and touching the estates of two of the world’s most well-known artists, the US Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit clarified its position on the application of the fair use doctrine and its protection of transformative works. In doing so, the Second Circuit reversed the...
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That’s So Metal: Ninth Circuit Confirms Standard of Review for Finding Unclean Hands on Summary Judgment
By Sarah Bro on Mar 4, 2021
Posted In Trademarks
In a trademark infringement dispute over the brand name “METAL,” the US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit resolved an issue of first impression in holding that when reviewing a grant of summary judgment on an unclean hands defense in a trademark infringement case, the correct standard of review is abuse of discretion. Metal...
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No Matter How Many Touched the Flowers, Single Infringement Begets Single Statutory Damages Award
By Sarah Bro on Feb 11, 2021
Posted In Copyrights
In a dispute over the alleged infringement of a floral print textile design, the US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit affirmed the plaintiff’s ownership of a valid copyright, but reversed and remanded for further proceedings on the issue of statutory damages, finding that the Copyright Act permits only a single award of statutory...
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2020 IP Law Year in Review: Trademarks
By Sarah Bro and Eleanor B. Atkins on Jan 21, 2021
Posted In Trademarks
Executive Summary 2020 was a year like no other, so you’d be forgiven if the year’s biggest headlines in trademark law didn’t quite catch your attention. In 2020, the US Supreme Court shaped trademark jurisprudence through a trio of notable decisions. A pandemic and shelter-in-place orders pushed more consumers to virtual marketplaces, forcing brand owners,...
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This Mashup Is Not a Place You’ll Go – Seuss Copyright Will ‘Live Long and Prosper’
By Sarah Bro on Jan 7, 2021
Posted In Copyrights, Trademarks
Presented with a publishing company defendant’s mashup of Dr. Seuss’ copyrighted works with Star Trek in a work titled Oh, the Places You’ll Boldly Go!, the US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit tackled claims of both copyright and trademark infringement, including the defense of fair use and the use of trademarks in expressive...
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