Region: United States of America

The Trademark Public Advisory Committee has delivered its annual report into the management of the trademark operations of the USPTO. The report found that "the quality of the work of the Trademark Organization is high and rising".

03 December 2008

In <i>The Hershey Company v Art Van Furniture Inc</i>, a Michigan district court has granted The Hershey Company’s motion for a temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction on the grounds that Art Van Furniture Inc’s delivery truck decoration showing a chocolate-brown sofa emerging from a candy bar wrapper was likely to dilute the distinctive quality of Hershey’s famous trade dress.

02 December 2008

Pursuant to a racketeering indictment, the US District Court for the Central District of California has ordered the forfeiture of a biker gang’s federally registered trademark. Pursuant to the order, the defendants, among others, must surrender for seizure all items bearing the MONGOLS mark. The case raises a number of interesting trademark issues.

28 November 2008

In <i>Anheuser-Busch Inc v VIP Products LLC</i>, a Missouri district court has preliminarily enjoined VIP Products LLC from selling a squeeze toy for dogs that resembled Anheuser-Busch Inc’s Budweiser beer bottle. The court found Anheuser likely to succeed on its claims for trademark and trade dress infringement and unfair competition, but not on its claim of trademark dilution.

27 November 2008

The Bush administration has reported that the US Trade Representative has been partially successful in complaints filed in April 2007 with the World Trade Organization against the People's Republic of China for failure to comply with its obligations under the Agreement on Trade-Related Intellectual Property Rights.

24 November 2008

Eric J Holder, a respected lawyer who recognizes the importance of intellectual property, has accepted the role of attorney general in Barack Obama's incoming government, according to US television network NBC.

21 November 2008

In <i>Venture Tape Corporation v McGills Glass Warehouse</i>, the US Court of Appeals for the First Circuit has considered whether the unauthorized use of a trademark as a metatag constituted use upon which a finding of trademark infringement liability could be based. Answering in the affirmative, the court held that the defendant was liable for damages and for the payment of the plaintiff’s attorneys' fees.

21 November 2008

Fresh from its settlement of a similar case with Google, American Airlines Inc has filed suit against another internet search engine. In a complaint filed in the US District Court for the Northern District of Texas, American Airlines alleged that Yahoo! Inc and its subsidiary Overture Services Inc infringed and diluted its AMERICAN AIRLINES mark and other marks by selling them as advertising keywords.

19 November 2008

In <i>Segal v Geisha NYC LLC</i>, the US Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit has upheld the dismissal of Jonathan Segal's complaint for failure to state a federal infringement claim. Among other things, the court held that an operating agreement authorized two or more founders of the Japonais restaurant to expand the concept to additional locations.

01 April 2008