Pop superstar Madonna is currently involved in a trademark infringement lawsuit over her line of “Hard Candy” gyms. The woman who taught the world to “Vogue” is being accused of maliciously stealing the name Hard Candy from a beauty and fashion company of the same name, and using the phrase to promote her gyms and
According to NBC 7 San Diego, Shawne Merriman is suing Nike over a new line of athletic clothing, claiming the company is infringing on his trademarked nickname “Lights Out”. According to the suit, Merriman and Nike were in negotiations to start a clothing brand with his trademark phrase, but nothing official was ever decided. Nike
In any trademark lawsuit, the plaintiff must show more than the similarity of the trademarked image or phrase to prove infringement. The senior user (the first company to use the trademark) must also prove customer confusion and intent. Customer confusion is based on the reasonable belief that customers in your target audience would have trouble
Zippo is in a trademark battle with Lorillard, the third biggest tobacco company in the nation, over the Blu brand name. As of now, the name “Blu” is being used to identify both a type of Zippo lighter and a popular brand of electronic cigarette. Zippo claims that they filed a trademark on the name
In 2000, Glock Inc., the American branch of the Austrian handgun manufacturer, began a series of trademark infringement lawsuits against toy manufacturers. The defendants in the vast majority of these cases were manufacturers or distributors of toy guns and blank firing guns. Bruni, Sportsman’s Guide, Gamo USA, Academy Toy Company and Daisy all fell under
Former frontman for the Misfits, Glenn Danzig, is suing the current Misfits bassist Jerry Only over the trademark for their iconic symbol, known as the “Crimson Ghost” or the “Fiend Skull”. According to Danzig, he and Only signed a contract in 1994 agreeing to share trademark and merchandising rights for Misfits memorabilia. Recently, Danzig realized
The Mongols of Southern California are in the fight of their lives to retain their iconic image, but they believe the judge in their case is prejudiced against them. In October 2008, a U.S. District Court Judge forbid club members and their families from wearing the Mongols logo, a Mongolian soldier’s profile wearing sunglasses, or
We have been closely following the unfolding of the Apple and Samsung patent infringement case. Previously, we discussed how Apple is suing Samsung for $2 billion on the grounds that the latter infringed on Apple’s patents, such as slide-to-unlock, word correction, contextual links, universal search and data syncing. Samsung responded by calling to the stand
Previously we discussed the ongoing clash of titans, Apple and Samsung, and the patent infringement case that has been brewing for well over two years. Essentially, Apple is claiming that Samsung has infringed on their patents in regards to slide-to-unlock, auto-correct text, contextual links, universal search, and data syncing. In response, Samsung said that Apple’s
A business in the throes of a trademark infringement dispute will likely be successful in defending their mark if they meet the requirements of the Lanham Act: they are the rightful owners of the trademark, the infringing company is using the mark without their permission, and the use of the mark is causing consumer confusion.
