California Intellectual Property Blog

San Diego – A Florida-based chapter of The Society of Professional Journalists has attempted to trademark the term “Fake News” to stop President Donald Trump from using it. The apparent concern is that the term has been used to discredit legitimate news stories and demean journalists.

There has been a general distrust directed toward the field of journalism since the beginning of Donald Trump’s presidency. A spike was seen in these behaviors when Donald Trump began making claims about “Fake News” indiscriminately. Since Donald Trump has taken over as President, the website Factba.se was launched to track all of the comments made Read the rest

Los Angeles – Mondelez Canada Inc., the creator of the sour gummy candy Sour Patch Kids, has filed a trademark lawsuit against an apparent knockoff called “Stoney Patch”. While Sour Patch Kids are clearly for kids, Stoney Patch is THC-infused candy. Mondelez also takes issue with the fact that the Stoney Patch brand gummies share a striking resemblance to their Sour Patch Kids.

This lawsuit highlights a disturbing trend among THC-infused edible food companies which are creating edibles that are packaged in a way that makes them appear to be candy. In the complaint that Mondelez filed with the US District Court for the Central Di Read the rest

Los Angeles – The historical names that once were a part of Yosemite National Park, such as the Ahwahnee Hotel and Curry Village, are being brought back to their former glory following a legal settlement in a lengthy trademark lawsuit.

Delaware North registered trademarks for the names of the historic sites within Yosemite National Park during its 25-year run as the park’s former concessionaire. Recently to end litigation regarding alleged trademark infringement after Yosemite changed to a new concessionaire, Delaware North agreed to relinquish the claimed ownership of the trademarks for $12 Million.

The trademark claims, which p Read the rest

Orange County – The use of the word “Prime” on Amazon’s trucks has led to a trademark infringement lawsuit. On July 2nd, 2019, a Missouri-based trucking company, Prime Inc., filed a lawsuit in federal court in the western district of Missouri.

Prime Inc. claims to have notified Amazon of the trademark infringement more than two years ago through written correspondence, as well as proceedings that Prime Inc. initiated through the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board. Amazon has continued to use the Prime markings on its trucks and other vehicles for commercial use. Prime is claiming that Amazon’s actions amount to unfair c Read the rest

San Diego – Lego has filed another lawsuit against a manufacturer of figurines similar to those produced by Lego. This time the defendant is Connecticut based Lakeshore Learning Material which has also been accused copyright infringement.

Lego, which is based in Denmark, believes that the potential harm to their brand is unquantifiable. Lego alleges that the damage done from the unauthorized copies of its trademarked figurines will be significant. Lego believes that Lakeshore has copied the “Minifigure” design that is trademark and copyright protected, to create figurines that are incredibly similar to that of Lego’s. The &# Read the rest

Orange County – In a lawsuit that has gone on for three years, a small Australian bootmaker has recently lost a decision and has been ordered to pay $450,000 for trademark infringement. The case involves the popular “UGG” trademark and footwear design owned by United States-based Deckers Outdoor Corporation. Deckers filed the lawsuit in March of 2016 on the claim that Sydney-based Australian Leather had willfully infringed upon the trademark by selling sheepskin-lined boots also referred to as an “Ugg.”

Deckers’ UGG boot generates over $1 billion in annual revenue for the American company. The infringing boots in question were sold i Read the rest

San Diego – Anheuser-Busch InBev recently launched a beer called Patagonia. The popular outdoor clothing retailer by the same name is claiming that consumers will be confused into thinking that the beer has something to do with the clothing company which it does not. Thus far Anheuser-Busch InBev has not backed down and so Patagonia has filed a trademark infringement lawsuit.

Patagonia was founded in California in 1973 and has grown into one of the leading outdoor retailers known for its role as being a leader in environmental activism. Two years ago Patagonia sued President Trump after he attempted to limit protected national lands. In P Read the rest

Los Angeles – The popular denim company, Levi Strauss, has recently sued Yves Saint Laurent on the grounds of trademark infringement regarding the tabs included on jean pockets.

One of the most classic features on Levi jeans is also one of the smallest features on their pants. Levi’s have been commonly known to have the company name printed onto a red, white, or blue tab. This tab is typically attached into the right seam of the back pocket. The question is, however, does the use of a similar tab from Yves Saint Laurent warrant trademark infringement. To make a case, Levi Strauss must be able to prove that the similarities between the two coul Read the rest

San Diego – President Donald Trump recently published a Tweet to his Twitter account that has landed him in some hot water. The Tweet was comprised of a frozen cinematic depiction of the President with the phrase “Sanctions are Coming” in a font that brings to mind the blockbuster HBO series Game of Thrones.

HBO’s Game of Thrones series is well known for its trademark phrase: “Winter is Coming.” The phrase is known as the prediction of an army that is to sweep and conquer the land. “Winter is Coming” has been used in countless forms on social media over the years, however, HBO has indicated that they would prefer that it is not u Read the rest

Los Angeles – A trademark quarrel has arisen over who owns the term “Sacksonville.” In 2015, Dan Skuta of the NFL’s Jacksonville Jaguars applied to trademark the term “Sacksonville”. The application was later abandoned in 2016. Skuta originally signed a five-year contract for $20.5 million with the Jaguars in 2015 but was later cut from the team early in 2017.
On October 18, 2017, the Jaguars filed a trademark application for #SACKSONVILLE for goods and services including shirts and entertainment services. On May 3, 2018 Skuta re-filed a trademark application for SACKSONVILLE for shirts and decals, and then on May 4, 2018 Skut Read the rest