In a precedential decision, the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (“Board”) reversed the decision of the Examining Attorney, concluding that BOYS WORLD for “audio recordings featuring music,” in International Class 9 functioned as a trademark. ZeroSix, LLC, 2023 U.S.P.Q.2D
United States
Vans secures temporary restraining order barring promotion and sale of Wavy Baby Shoes


In Vans, Inc. v. MSCHF Product Studio, Inc., No. 22CV2156WFKRML, 2022 WL 1446681 (E.D.N.Y. Apr. 29, 2022), shoe company Vans, Inc. (“Vans”) prevailed in obtaining a temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction against art collective MSCHF Product Studio, Inc.…
TTAB prohibits the County of Orange from registering unofficial seal and badge designs


PepsiCo wins appeal over MTN DEW RISE ENERGY trademark dispute


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…
Federal Circuit upholds constitutionality of TTAB judges
This week the Federal Circuit rejected a constitutional challenge to the Secretary of Commerce’s appointment of administrative judges to the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (“TTAB”) at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (“USPTO”). The decision comes on the heels…
U.S. Supreme Court sides with Google and ends software copyright battle


The Supreme Court ruled on whether Google’s copying of Oracle’s Java SE API program was a protected “fair use” under US copyright law.…
Testing and trade secrets: marketing may eliminate rights
Marketing testing procedures and results often provides compelling data to influence customer decisions. But, doing so may impede potential trade secret misappropriation claims.
As further described below, a federal court recently granted summary judgment against a trade secret misappropriation claim…
Late-night law may have big impact on IP owners
In a last minute effort to avoid a government shutdown, on December 21, 2020 Congress passed the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021.…
Willfulness not required for profits awards in trademark infringement suits

A trademark infringement suit is not required to show willful infringement as a precondition to a disgorgement of the infringers’ profits.…
When can you sue for copyright infringement in the US?
On March 4, 2019, the U.S. Supreme Court settled a split between federal appeals courts regarding when a copyright owner may sue for copyright infringement.…