Enforcing a Judgment by Levying a Domain Name

The Ninth Circuit issued an ironic ruling last month regarding levying domain names to satisfy a prior judgment.  In Office Depot, Inc. v. Zuccarini, (9th Cir., Feb. 2010) Slip Opinion, the Ninth Circuit ruled that a creditor can levy a…

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Upcoming CLE – 2009 IP Year in Review

Please mark your calendars for Tuesday, April 27th, as Woodard, Emhardt partner Chuck Schmal will be one of the featured speakers reviewing interesting case law and other developments in the past year in the areas of patent, trademark, copyright and internet law.  The seminar…

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Trademarks: First Madrid Protocol Affidavits Coming Due

In a recent blog update (link below), USPTO Director David Kappos issued a reminder that the first affidavits for extensions of trademark protection issued under the Madrid Protocol will be coming due between February 1, 2010 and February 1, 2011.…

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Midwest Intellectual Property Symposium Held Nov. 19 – 20

The Midwest Intellectual Property Symposium was held November 19 & 20 at the University Hotel and Conference Center in Indianapolis, IN.  The event was sponsored by the Indiana Continuing Legal Education Foundation and featured presentations by speakers in a variety…

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ICANN Set to Expand Domain Name Space

ICANN (the body responsible for regulating domain names) is planning to expand the domain name system to better reach an international audience.  Domain names consisting of non-latin characters are currently set to be launched on November 16, 2009.  These characters…

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The Importance of Conducting Post-Registration “Fraudits” of Trademark Registrations

The Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (TTAB) has ruled, precedentially, that the correction of a false statement regarding use of a trademark in commerce, if made before a registration has been challenged, creates a rebuttable presumption that the registrant did…

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Doctrine of Foreign Equivalents

The Federal Circuit recently reversed a Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (TTAB) decision affirming an Examining Attorney’s refusal to register the mark MOSCOVSKAYA as primarily geographically deceptively misdescriptive. In Russian, MOSCOVSKAYA means “from Moscow.” The Examining Attorney relied on the…

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Family-of-Marks Argument Not Available Against Likelihood of Confusion Refusal

In a recent Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (TTAB) decision, the Applicant attempted to register the mark CYNERGY and in response received a section 2(d) likelihood of confusion refusal in light of a prior registration for SYNERGIE PEEL. In responding…

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Another Loss for the New England Patriots

The Applicant in this case filed an application for “19-0 THE PERFECT SEASON” on November 8, 2007, seeking registration on the Supplemental Register, and amended the application on April 22, 2008 to seek registration on the Principal Register. In the…

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