Kaylee A. Sill (US)

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Whirlpool Wins Appeal Against Chinese Manufacturer in KITCHENAID Trademark Lawsuit

By Kaylee A. Sill (US) on September 1, 2023 Posted in Intellectual Property, Trademark

The Fifth Circuit upheld a preliminary injunction last week prohibiting Chinese company Shenzhen Sanlida Electrical Technology Co. Ltd. and Shenzhen Sanlida Electrical Technology Co., Ltd. (collectively “Shenzhen”) from selling stand mixers that allegedly infringe Whirlpool Corp.’s (“Whirlpool”) famous KITCHENAID trademarks and trade dress. In January 2022, Whirlpool sued Shenzhen alleging trademark infringement and dilution, trade … Continue reading

“Taste the Strain Bro”: Wrigley Settles SKITTLES Trademark Dispute with Cannabis Company

By Kaylee A. Sill (US) on July 14, 2023 Posted in Trademark

** This article was drafted by Logan Woodward, a Summer Associate in NRF’s Minneapolis Office. Logan is supervised by attorneys who are licensed in the State of Texas. After a two-year feud, Mars Wrigley (“Wrigley”), the maker of the popular rainbow-colored Skittles candies, recently settled its lawsuit with Terphogz LLC (“Terphogz”) regarding its use of … Continue reading

The New York Times Company Secures Registration of Six Column Names, Including LIKE A BOSS and THE NEW OLD AGE

By Kaylee A. Sill (US) on April 11, 2023 Posted in Trademark

In a precedential decision, the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (the “Board”) reversed six refusals to register The New York Times Company’s (the “Times”) names of its newspaper columns, THE NEW OLD AGE, A GOOD APPETITE, HUNGRY CITY, WORK FRIEND, OFF THE SHELF, and LIKE A BOSS (the “Marks”). The Times applied to register the … Continue reading

Three Year Battle Ends with Lizzo Securing Registration for 100% THAT BITCH Mark

By Kaylee A. Sill (US) on February 17, 2023 Posted in Brands, Intellectual Property, Trademark

In a precedential decision, the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (the “Board”) reversed two refusals to register Grammy-winning singer Lizzo’s 100% THAT BITCH trademarks. Lizzo’s company, Lizzo LLC, applied for two word trademarks in June 2019 for 100% THAT BITCH for various types of clothing after she popularized the phrase in her 2017 hit single … Continue reading

USPTO Adds 75 Climate and Green-Tech Terms to Trademark ID Manual

By Kaylee A. Sill (US) on January 27, 2023 Posted in Intellectual Property, Trademark

Earlier this month, the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) announced that it is adding new climate and green tech-related terms to the Trademark ID Manual. The USPTO has already added 75 terms that include biomethane, research and development in the field of wind energy, and treatment of captured landfill gasses. Practically, the addition … Continue reading

Modern collegiate trademark and licensing regime may face increased enforcement challenges

By Felicia Boyd (US) and Kaylee A. Sill (US) on August 22, 2022 Posted in Trademark

In The Pennsylvania State University v. Vintage Brand, LLC, 2022 U.S.P.Q.2d 653 (M.D. Pa. 2022 The Pennsylvania State University (“Penn State”) sued Vintage Brand, LLC (“Vintage”), an online retailer of screen-printed goods featuring logos and images, for violations of federal and state trademark and unfair competition laws. Penn State seeks to restrain Vintage from selling … Continue reading

TTAB prohibits the County of Orange from registering unofficial seal and badge designs

By Kaylee A. Sill (US) and Felicia Boyd (US) on August 15, 2022 Posted in Trademark

In a recent precedential decision, the TTAB refused registration of two trademark applications by the County of Orange holding that the marks constituted insignia even though they were not official seals.[1] In 2017, the County of Orange, a political subdivision in the state of California, applied for trademark registration of a circular and badge design … Continue reading

TTAB rules RANCHERO and EL RANCHERO marks confusingly similar

By Kaylee A. Sill (US) and Felicia Boyd (US) on August 10, 2022 Posted in Brands, Trademark

In a non-precedential decision, the TTAB held that use of the word and stylized mark EL RANCHERO for “food products made of corn, namely, corn chips, tortillas and tostadas” were confusingly similar to the word and design marks RANCHERO for “cream” and “Mexican style sausages, namely chorizo and bolita.”[1] The dispute over the “Ranchero” marks … Continue reading

PepsiCo wins appeal over MTN DEW RISE ENERGY trademark dispute

By Kaylee A. Sill (US) and Felicia Boyd (US) on August 10, 2022 Posted in Brands, Consumer goods, Trademark

PepsiCo. Inc. recently convinced the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit to throw out a preliminary injunction granted by a New York federal judge last fall that prevented PepsiCo from using MTN DEW RISE ENERGY on its canned energy drinks.[1] In March 2021, PepsiCo launched MTN DEW RISE ENERGY featuring cans with a … Continue reading

TTAB rules reckless disregard for the truth constitutes fraud

By Kaylee A. Sill (US) on February 22, 2022 Posted in Brands, Consumer goods, Intellectual Property, technology and innovation

In Chutter, Inc. v. Great Management Group, LLC, a precedential decision, the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (TTAB) held that recklessly false representations made during the course of the trademark application process satisfy the level of intent required to support a finding of fraud before the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).[1] The TTAB’s … Continue reading