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Intellectual Property Law

Seattle Trademark Lawyer

Reports on trademark law developments from Seattle and beyond. Covers trademark infringement, dilution, cybersquatting, right to publicity, domain name disputes, and the like, with an emphasis on happenings in the Seattle area and Ninth Circuit.
By Michael Atkins

Post Frequency: 5.4/day

Last Entry: March 30, 2011 at 00:20:04

Hey, That's My Descriptive Trademark!

Posted on March 30, 2011
On March 21, Evan Conklin Plumbing and Heating Inc. filed a trademark infringement suit in the Western District against Chaz Timblin. Both parties are plumbing companies. From Seattle. Plaintiff calls itself “Seattle Plumbing Company.” Defendant’s company calls itself “Seattle Plumbing and Sewer...

Confusion Over Mars Hill Name Spurs Seattle School's Name Change

Posted on March 29, 2011
Confusion no longer: Mars Hill Church and Mars Hill Graduate School,which plans to change its name. Photo credit: The Seattle Times The Christian Mars Hill Graduate School is tired of being confused with the Mars Hill Church. They’re both named after the hill in Athens where Paul, one of the Apostles, is believed to have spoken about being saved through Jesus...

STL's on the Road. Back in Two Weeks!

Posted on March 17, 2011
Mystery location. Hint: it’s sunny! Tomorrow, I’m going here to speak about software trade dress protection as part of this. See you in two weeks! Photo credit: Zarkos

Seattle Seller Caught with 33,700 Fake Handbags

Posted on March 17, 2011
King County prosecutors filed charges against a Seattle man accused of selling fake handbags. The Seattle police collected 33,700 items from proprietor Touray Burama’s home. He allegedly ran EB’s Fine Handbags in south Seattle. According to the Seattle-PI: “(An undercover officer) asked the worker [at EB’s] if the handbag on the wall was a ‘Kate Spade,’ investigators said in search warrants filed in U...

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Western District Denies Preliminary Injunction in Biotech Trademark Dispute

Posted on March 15, 2011
Plaintiff Mirina Corp. is a Seattle-area biotech company. In August 2010, it sued defendant Marina Biotech, a Seattle- and Boston-based biotech company, five days after defendant changed its name from MDRNA, Inc. (Previous post here...

Ninth Circuit Decides Competitor Keyword Advertising Case

Posted on March 10, 2011
Not much time to blog, as I’m preparing for my keyword panel discussion. That said, the Ninth Circuit released a pretty juicy keyword decision Tuesday: Network Automation, Inc. v. Advanced Systems Concepts, Inc. It holds the purchase of a competitor’s trademark constituted a “use” in commerce but didn’t infringe the trademark owner’s rights...

STL on Rosetta Stone v. Google - There's Still Time to Attend Thursday's Tele-CLE

Posted on March 08, 2011
On Thursday, STL’ll be talking about the status of keyword liability. Sign up. There’s still time. The tele-CLE is quick and to the point. In one hour, you’ll know everything that’s worth knowing about Rosetta Stone v. Google...

Depiction of Betty Boop Cartoon Aesthetically Functional, Not Infringing

Posted on March 07, 2011
Betty Boop Depictions of the Betty Boop cartoon character are aesthetically functional and governed by copyright law. Therefore, they’re not protectable as trademarks. The Ninth Circuit made those findings on Feb. 23. Interestingly, it based its decision on two cases neither party cited in its briefs...

If Parody is Exempt from Dilution, Why isn't It Exempt from Infringement?

Posted on March 01, 2011
Not commerical, so no dilution: Charles Smith’s WAL-QAEDA parody Discussing parody in my Advanced Trademark Law Seminar. I’m stumped on one point. In a number of cases involving the parodic use of a trademark, courts apply likelihood of confusion analysis to infringement claims...

Ninth Circuit Changes Dilution Standard

Posted on February 21, 2011
Ninth Circuit: “Identical or nearly identical” doesn’t control.Levi’s and Abercrombie’s’ stitch designs Interesting development in dilution in the Ninth Circuit. Previously, Ninth Circuit courts required that a mark be “identical or nearly identical” to the plaintiff’s famous mark for dilution to exist...

Ninth Circuit Affirms Western District's Finding that "Vericheck" is Suggestive

Posted on February 20, 2011
A while back, the Western District in Lahoti v. Vericheck, Inc., found the VERICHECK trademark is suggestive when used in connection with check verification services. In doing so, it concluded that David Lahoti acted in bad faith when he registered the vericheck...

Seattle eBay Seller's Lawsuit Against Coach Gets National Attention

Posted on February 17, 2011
Lots of media attention for Gina Kim’s class action lawsuit against Coach, Inc. She says she used to work for Coach, had accumulated a few Coach handbags, and tried to sell them on eBay. Ms. Kim says Coach accused her of selling counterfeit product and convinced eBay to pull her account...

PIE-brand Pie is the New CUPCAKE-brand Cupcake

Posted on February 13, 2011
Seattle pie maker Pie’s logo Pie is the new cupcake. And Seattle’s newest pie maker is Pie. It stands to reason, then, that PIE-brand pie is the new CUPCAKE-brand cupcake. Photo by STL

China's Chief Justice Discusses China IP Law at Microsoft Symposium

Posted on February 07, 2011
Here’s one more post from last week’s excellent symposium on “Trademark Law and Its Challenges in 2011' (previous post on Prof. Tom McCarthy’s keynote speech here). The program opened with an introduction to Chinese IP law from none other than Judge Kong Xiangjun (left), Chief Justice of the Intellectual Property Tribunal of China’s Supreme Court...

Prof. McCarthy: "Avoid Extremes" in Trademark Enforcement Efforts

Posted on February 06, 2011
On Feb. 3, I had the pleasure of attending a fantastic program sponsored by the University of San Francisco School of Law’s McCarthy Institute and Microsoft Corp. entitled, “Trademark Law and Its Challenges in 2011” (brochure here; World Trademark Review Blog summary of the event here)...

Not on Infringement Safari: Dakine's Reference to the Rainier Beer Logo

Posted on January 30, 2011
Rainier Beer’s logo and Dakine’s design I went downhill skiing for the first time today. Woo hoo! I’m hooked. I fell a ton, and my excursion was to what amounted to a bunny hill, but it was a lot of fun! Ok, enough about me...

Joyous Trademark Dispute Pits "Sweet Bliss" Against "Bliss"

Posted on January 26, 2011
The declaratory judgment plaintiff’s wine label (left) and the defendant’s I guess I wasn’t in the mood to blog about wine. It was right after New Year’s, after all. On Jan. 4, West Richland, Wash., winery Pacific Rim Winemakers, Inc...

Trademark Principles Not Appropriate in Determining "Voter Confusion"

Posted on January 23, 2011
On Jan. 11, the Western District took its final step in deciding whether the state’s new primary election system established by voter initiative I-872 is unconstitutional. Under the system, elections for partisan office start with a primary in which every candidate declares his or her party preference or independent status...

Western District Denies Dismissal of Novel Trademark Theories

Posted on January 20, 2011
Novel causes of action for contributory cybersquatting and contributory dilution appear to viable here in the Western District. On Jan. 12, Western District Judge Ricardo Martinez refused to dismiss such claims plaintiff brought in Microsoft Corp. v. Shah...

Trouble with TESS

Posted on January 19, 2011
Trouble searching applications and registrations today? The PTO’s Trademark Electronic Search System (TESS) database was having trouble. From Carl Oppedahl on INTA’s list serve: “Well, this morning it was TESS that was acting up, and eventually after some hours of discussion on the listserves, USPTO quietly posted a notice that TESS had melted down and was being repaired...

Court to Consider Constitutionality of Personality Rights Statute

Posted on January 13, 2011
Tomorrow Western District Judge Thomas Zilly will consider the constitutionality of RCW 63.60, Washington’s Personality Rights Act. This is in the Experience Hendrix, LLC v. HendrixLicensing.com, Ltd. case, in which the Jimi Hendrix Estate’s licensing company sued the seller of Jimi Hendrix-oriented artwork (discussed here and here)...

Seahawks Fans Cry Foul Over "Large" Beers Served at Qwest Field

Posted on January 10, 2011
This weekend, The Seattle Times reported a big story at Qwest Field. No, it wasn’t that the 7-9 Seattle Seahawks managed to upend the defending Super Bowl champs, the New Orleans Saints. That was certainly a surprise, and around here is big news...

ABA IP Law Section Surveys Members About Trademark Bullies

Posted on January 04, 2011
Excerpt from the ABA’s “Trademark Misuse Survey” I’m all for this kind of dialog. And I’m not knocking the ABA. But in this context, it feels wasteful. Sen. Patrick Leahy got upset this summer when one of his constituents was publicly mistreated by a trademark bully...

All You Need to Know About Trade Dress Law

Posted on January 03, 2011
Happy New Year! At the outset of 2011, I thought it’d be useful for some to review the basics of trade dress law. (I assure you it’s purely coincidental I’m teaching the ins-and-outs of trade dress tomorrow morning!) Following is really all a restaurateur or small business owner needs to know about trade dress: Trade dress is the overall look-and-feel of product packaging, design, or decor that functions like a trademark, i...

"Eden Organic" Mark Owner Sues Over "Eatin' Organics"

Posted on December 26, 2010
Plaintiff’s and defendant’s logos Plaintiff Eden Foods, Inc., makes and sells organic foods. Eden’s Organics, LLC, d/b/a Eatin’ Organics, LLC, delivers organic fruits and vegetables in Greater Seattle. Eden Foods alleges that Eden’s Organics’ use of EDEN’S ORGANICS and EATIN’ ORGANICS infringes Eden Foods’ trademark registrations for EDEN, EDEN ORGANIC & DESIGN, and EDEN FOODS in connection with various vegetable products...

"First-Class Mail" is a Protectable (and Registered) Trademark?

Posted on December 20, 2010
I ordered some photos online, which were delivered to me last week. The envelope was marked “USPS FIRST-CLASS MAIL.” That was expected, because I asked that the photos be sent by first-class mail. What wasn’t expected was the statement at the bottom of the mailing label that “FIRST-CLASS MAIL IS A REGISTERED TRADEMARK OF THE UNITED STATES POSTAL SERVICE...

Western District Holds Cancellation is Not a Valid Independent Claim

Posted on December 15, 2010
In Basel Action Network v. International Association of Electronics Recyclers, both parties are non-profit organizations that certify businesses that recycle electronics products. In June 2010, Basel sued IAER for a declaratory judgment that its use of the terms “certified electronics recycler” and “electronics recycler” does not infringe IAER’s CERTIFIED ELECTRONICS RECYCLER certification mark...

The Gavel Drops: Results From the "Brand Name Auction"

Posted on December 14, 2010
The New York Times reported the “Brand Name Auction” raised a bunch of money — over $100k in all. (STL background post here.) SHEARSON garnered the highest bid at $45,000, followed by MEISTER BRAU at $32,500 and HANDI-WRAP at $30,000...

Abercrombie & Fitch Sues in Seattle for Cybersquatting and Unfair Competition

Posted on December 12, 2010
Screen shot from defendants’ Web site at www.aberceombie.com Subtlety isn’t their thing. Abercrombie & Fitch Co. alleges that unknown defendants not only registered a truckload of domain names that are confusingly similar to its ABERCROMBIE and HOLLISTER registered trademarks, but those domain names resolve to Web sites that sell products that compete with Abercrombie & Fitch’s products, including products that allegedly are pirated from Abercrombie...

Discussion Slated on Right of Publicity Litigation -- in San Francisco

Posted on December 08, 2010
Sounds like a great program. The Copyright Society of the U.S.A. (in San Francisco, unfortunately) has lined up a discussion titled, “Recent Cases on the Right of Publicity and the First Amendment.” It’s going to be moderated by Prof...

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