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Mealey's Trademarks

  • April 13, 2026

    Judge Chastises Proud Boys’ Head’s Lawyer After Default In Trademark Row

    NEW YORK — A New York federal judge had harsh words for the head of a New York area chapter of the Proud Boys extremist group who filed a response to a trademark infringement complaint filed against the group by a historic Black church in Washington, D.C., while a default judgment hearing was occurring before the court; the judge said the “Court balks at the suggestion that this level of disregard stemmed from an ‘inadvertent[]’ ‘calendaring error.’”

  • April 10, 2026

    3rd Circuit: Copying Of Building Codes Likely Fair Use

    PHILADELPHIA — A Third Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel agreed with a Pennsylvania federal judge that an online research platform was likely to succeed on its fair use defense against claims accusing it of infringing copyrighted building codes that have been incorporated into the International Building Code; the panel pointed to a 2023 opinion by the District of Columbia Circuit U.S. Court of Appealsinvolving the same plaintiff-appellant that similarly found fair use.

  • April 09, 2026

    Judge Finds Trademark Default ‘Exceptional’ For Purpose Of Attorney Fees

    WILMINGTON, Del. — A Delaware federal judge held that a defaulting defendant engineering entity owes more than $30,000 in attorney fees because a plaintiff information technology (IT) company that brought trademark infringement claims had managed to illustrate the “exceptional” nature of the case.

  • April 07, 2026

    9th Circuit Agrees: ‘Foxy Lady’ Marks Not Sufficiently Similar For Infringement

    LAS VEGAS — A federal judge in Washington did not clearly err when finding that an exotic dance bar could not show that a “bikini barista” coffee shop’s use of marks containing the phrase “Foxy Lady” were sufficiently similar to the bar’s own marks containing the phrase, a Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel held, affirming the judge’s denial of the bar’s request for default judgment and the subsequent dismissal.

  • April 03, 2026

    Partly Split 4th Circuit Agrees Earlier Settlement Bars Trademark Claims

    RICHMOND, Va. — A partly split Fourth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel affirmed a South Carolina federal magistrate judge’s finding that a plaintiff technology company’s federal trademark claims, filed only weeks after the settlement of state breach of contract claims, were barred by res judicata due to the “wide scope of the settlement agreement” in a dispute over marks containing the word “touch.”

  • April 02, 2026

    Judge Denies NCAA TRO Request For Trademark Claims Against DraftKings

    INDIANAPOLIS — A federal judge in Indiana denied the National Collegiate Athletic Association’s motion for a temporary restraining order (TRO) enjoining DraftKings Inc. from using a series of marks related to the annual “March Madness” basketball tournament, holding that while the NCAA had established likelihood of confusion regarding DraftKings’ use of the marks, it had failed to show the likelihood of irreparable reputational harm.

  • April 01, 2026

    Judge: No Personal & Advertising Injury Coverage Owed For Trademark Infringement Suit

    CHICAGO — A federal judge in Illinois granted a commercial general liability insurer’s motion for summary judgment in an insured’s lawsuit seeking personal and advertising injury coverage for an underlying action alleging the insured unlawfully used another company’s trademark in its online advertising, holding that the underlying claims fail to establish an offense that falls under policy coverage and that an intellectual property exclusion further bars coverage.

  • March 31, 2026

    High Court Rejects Certiorari In Counterfeiting Row With $9.3M Ruling

    WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. Supreme Court on March 30 rejected a petition for a writ of certiorari from supplement makers accused of counterfeiting who argued that the Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals was wrong to affirm a California federal judge’s entry of a $4 million judgment and award of nearly $5.3 million in attorney fees after the judge entered default judgment against the petitioners; the justices will not consider arguments that the Ninth Circuit wrongly held that mere registration can satisfy the trademark infringement standard.

  • March 27, 2026

    Panel Affirms Trademark Dispute Award, Will Consider Fees For ‘Frivolous’ Filing

    PHOENIX — A Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel on March 26 affirmed the confirmation of an International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) award issued in favor of an Italian wine company involved in a dispute over trademark rights with its American distributor and ordered the distributor and its counsel to show cause why an award of attorney fees should not be imposed against them for bringing a “self-indulgent appeal” based on procedural defects and translation issues.

  • March 24, 2026

    6th Circuit OKs Injunction Denial In Pet Service Row For Unclean Hands

    CINCINNATI — A Sixth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel ruled that a Michigan federal judge did not abuse his discretion in largely denying a pet care services company’s request for a preliminary injunction against former franchisees the company said misappropriated proprietary methods, client data and trademarks; the panel saw no error in the district court’s application of the unclean hands doctrine.

  • March 20, 2026

    Magistrate Judge: TTAB Ruling Assures Summary Judgment Win For Bahá’í Group

    DENVER — A federal magistrate judge in Colorado granted a motion for summary judgment filed by the American organization for worshippers in the Bahá’í faith on trademark claims against an individual the organization says is using marks in connection with one of the religion’s governing bodies; the judge agreed with the plaintiff religious organization that the outcome of the trademark claims was determined by the defendant’s loss before the U.S. Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (TTAB).

  • March 18, 2026

    9th Circuit Affirms Dismissal Of California Drink Shop’s Trademark Claims

    PASADENA, Calif. — A Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel affirmed a California federal judge’s dismissal of a trademark infringement dispute that a California-based beverage store brought against a similarly named wine shop in New York, agreeing in a March 17 unpublished memorandum disposition that the plaintiff-appellant shop and its owner had failed to establish personal jurisdiction over the New York store.

  • March 18, 2026

    Dismissal Of Actor’s Trademark Claims Against Tyler Perry Affirmed By 9th Circuit

    SAN FRANCISCO — A California federal judge was right to dismiss an actor’s trademark infringement claims against Tyler Perry Studios (TPS) film studio for lack of personal jurisdiction, a Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel held, affirming the district court’s rejection of claims that Perry wrongly distributed a recording of a performance of “Diary of a Mad Black Woman” before the play was adapted into a successful film.

  • March 17, 2026

    Judge Won’t Dismiss Founder’s IP Claims Against Ohio Motherhood Nonprofit

    CLEVELAND — An Ohio federal judge denied a nonprofit birthing advocacy group’s motion to dismiss its founder’s complaint that the organization used copyrights and trademarks created by the founder without authorization; the judge held that the plaintiff adequately alleged copyright and trademark infringement for the purpose of surviving dismissal.

  • March 16, 2026

    Judge Grants TRO For Cancer Nonprofit On IP Claims Against Former Board President

    MONTGOMERY, Ala. — A federal judge in Alabama on March 13 granted a cancer advocacy group’s motion for a temporary restraining order against the former president of its board of directors and the company she controls, enjoining the defendants from using trademarks related to the phrase “Women in Blue” in connection with a fundraising initiative.

  • March 13, 2026

    2nd Circuit Affirms Injunction Denial In Film Fest Trademark Fight

    NEW YORK — A Second Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel saw no abuse of discretion in a New York federal judge’s finding that the owner of a South Asian film festival in New York was unlikely to succeed on trademark claims against the owner of a South Asian film festival in both Texas and New York, affirming the judge’s decision to deny a preliminary injunction.

  • March 13, 2026

    9th Circuit Affirms Denial Of Attorney Fees For Web Mark Row Removal

    SAN FRANCISCO — An Arizona federal judge was not wrong to deny a plaintiff web development entity’s request for attorney fees from its domain registrar, a Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel held, finding that it was not unreasonable for the domain registrar to seek federal question jurisdiction on claims that it improperly blocked its use of a domain name in the United States as a result of an order from a judge in India regarding specific trademarks.

  • March 12, 2026

    7th Circuit: Judge Erred By Finding Jurisdiction In Counterfeiting Row

    CHICAGO — A Seventh Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel found that an Illinois federal judge “clearly erred” by determining that defendants in a counterfeiting case sold products in Illinois based on screenshots showing an uncompleted purchase to a Chicago shipping address.

  • March 09, 2026

    Supreme Court Won’t Consider Co-Ownership Of ‘Zioness’ Trademark

    WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. Supreme Court denied a pro-Zionist advocacy group’s petition for a writ of certiorari in a March 9 order list, declining to hear the advocacy group’s contention that the Second Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals violated the core principles of trademark law when a panel determined that the group and another with similar aims are co-owners of the trademark “Zioness.”

  • March 09, 2026

    Drilling Company Didn’t Show Trademark Claims Are Time-Barred, Judge Rules

    OKLAHOMA CITY — An Oklahoma federal judge rejected a defendant oil and natural gas company’s contention that a trademark suit against it was premised on time-barred claims; the judge held that further factual development was required to determine whether the doctrine of laches applied.

  • March 06, 2026

    Jury Orders $75M In Damages For Removal Of University’s CMI

    HARTFORD, Conn. — A federal jury in Connecticut found that the owner of an online platform that allows users to share educational resources with each other owes more than $75 million to a private university in the state after the jury agreed with claims that the web platform violated the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) thousands of times in its distribution of university contents.

  • March 06, 2026

    5th Circuit Amends Trademark Opinion, Now Finding Attorney Immune

    NEW ORLEANS — A Fifth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel released a slightly amended version of an October 2025 opinion that affirmed a Texas federal judge’s grant of summary judgment to a law firm on its trademark claims against a man and two attorneys who made a fake website using the law firm’s name as part of a landlord-tenant dispute; the panel held that it previously improperly affirmed the judge’s finding that one of the two attorneys was not protected by attorney immunity.

  • March 05, 2026

    Judge: Polo Association Established Jurisdiction, But Marks Not Famous Enough

    NEW YORK — A federal judge in New York dismissed a claim of trademark dilution from a complaint the United States Polo Association Inc. (USPA) brought against an apparel company that the polo association accused of fraudulently obtaining a registered trademark; the judge held March 4 that USPA failed to establish the requisite fame of its marks.

  • March 02, 2026

    William And Mary Fails To Show Jurisdiction For Trademark Row, Judge Finds

    NEWPORT NEWS, Va. — A federal judge in Virginia dismissed a complaint brought by the College of William and Mary in Virginia against a scientific education nonprofit organization, finding that the college failed to show that the court had personal jurisdiction over the defendant entity to consider its claims that its more than 300-year-old mark had been infringed.

  • February 26, 2026

    Hayes Estate And Trump Settle Copyright Claims Over Campaign Use Of Soul Song

    ATLANTA — The estate of soul musician Isaac Hayes and other associated entities have settled their dispute with President Donald J. Trump and his 2024 election campaign over the alleged infringement of the Hayes-written song “Hold On, I’m Comin’,” and the parties stipulated to the dismissal of the complaint in a Georgia federal court with prejudice.