CDAS Partner Nancy Wolff’s Webinar Available Online
Recently, CDAS Partner Nancy Wolff hosted a webinar for the Digital Media Licensing Association which answered common questions about when you need releases when using visual images. The webinar is now available online for free, and is a useful resource for anyone publishing or displaying still or motion images and wondering whether permissions are needed
No Presumption of Irreparable Harm for Lanham Act Injunctions, Says Third Circuit
In a recent decision, the Third Circuit announced that it would no longer presume irreparable harm for plaintiffs requesting preliminary injunctive relief for claims arising under the Lanham Act (see Ferring Pharmaceuticals, Inc. v. Watson Pharmaceuticals, Inc., No. 13-2290 (Aug. 26, 2014)). Instead, claimants seeking to enjoin acts of trademark infringement or false advertising must
Sticks, Carrots and Copyrights
Last month, in Sandy Routt, d/b/a sandybeachgifts.com, d/b/a Sandys Beach v. Amazon.com, Inc., the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals dismissed claims seeing to hold Amazon.com vicariously liable for the copyright and trademark infringing activities of its affiliate marketing partners. Amazon.com maintains a program in which third party websites agree to display a widget that contains
Getting a Handle on the New Generic Top-Level Domains: Strategies for Brand Protection in the Era of New gTLDs
After years of intense discussion and debate, the new generic top-level domain names (known as gTLDs) are here. And they have been popular: when .club went live on May 7, 2014, over 32,000 domain names ending in .club sold in the first 24 hours, and nearly 30,000 more were sold over the next three weeks.
CDAS Partner Eleanor M. Lackman Ranked as Leading Lawyer in Chambers 2014 USA Guide
Cowan DeBaets Abrahams & Sheppard LLP is pleased to announce that partner Eleanor M. Lackman was recognized by the prestigious and client-focused Chambers as among just 41 New York lawyers ranked as a “Leading Individual” in the field of “Intellectual Property: Trade Mark and Copyright” in the 2014 edition of Chambers’ Leading Lawyers for Business guide.
Sudden Death in Overtime
In a decision that has been met with considerable praise and controversy, on June 18, 2014, the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board of the United States Patent and Trademark Office ordered the cancellation of six U.S. federal trademark registrations owned by the NFL’s Washington Redskins on the grounds that the use of the term “redskins”
Fight for the Fiend Skull Glenn Danzig v. Gerald Caiafa, et al. (C.D. Cal. 2014)
A legal battle is brewing: punk/heavy metal icon Glenn Danzig has sued his former Misfits bandmate, renowned bassist and singer Gerald “Jerry Only” Caiafa, for violations of various Misfits trademarks and logos. Following in the footsteps of Black Flag the filed complaint is another example of former bandmates’ battles over merchandise that remains profitable long
Trademark Applicants Must Pay USPTO Attorneys’ Fees in District Court Challenge, “Win, Lose or Draw”
A recent decision from the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia serves as a cautionary tale for trademark applicants seeking to challenge adverse decisions rendered by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office’s (“USPTO”) Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (the “TTAB”). On January 3, 2014, the Court in Shammas v. Focarino ruled that applicants
Judge Has “More Than a Feeling” About Nominative Fair Use: Donald Thomas Scholz v. Fran Migliaccio and Anthony Migliaccio
A federal court in Washington gave some “Peace of Mind” to former members of legendary rock band Boston when it denied Boston’s band leader a preliminary injunction in a trademark dispute. Plaintiff Donald Thomas Scholz (“Scholz”) is the founder and band leader of Boston, and undisputed owner of all of Boston’s trademarks. Fran Migliaccio and
More Than a Registrar: “Parked Pages” Program Leads Court to Deny Domain Name Registrar GoDaddy.com Safe Harbor Protection from Claims under the Anticybersquatting Consumer Protection Act (ACPA)
On June 21, 2013, a Central District of California court refused to extend ACPA safe harbor protection to popular domain name registrar GoDaddy.com, finding that it intended to profit from the registration and maintenance of various domain names that encompassed plaintiff Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences’ OSCAR, OSCARS, OSCAR NIGHT, ACADEMY AWARD and