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Federal district courts continue to apply the Supreme Court’s ruling in B&B Hardware, Inc. v. Hargis Indus., Inc., 135 S.Ct. (2015) with unpredictable results. The latest such example comes from the Southern District of New York, where Judge Buchman, in reliance on B&B Hardware, precluded the defendant from contesting likelihood of confusion. Cesari S.R.L. v. Peju Province Winery L.P., 1:17-cv-00873-NRB (S.D.N.Y. Dec. 11, 2017).
Continue Reading Cesari S.R.L. v. Peju Province Winery L.P.: Relying on Supreme Court Precedent, District Court Holds that Trademark Trial & Appeal Board Finding of Likelihood of Confusion has Preclusive Effect

Does your company’s wholly-owned subsidiary own trademarks in its own name?  Has your company acquired any companies that own trademarks?  If so, your company’s use of those trademarks will not prevent cancellation of those trademark registrations unless you have proper trademark license agreements in place.  This is exactly what happened to Floorco Enterprises, LLC’s NOBLE HOUSE trademark registration.  In a precedential decision, the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (“TTAB”) cancelled Floorco’s trademark registration because only Floorco’s parent company was using the trademark and there was no trademark license agreement in place between Floorco and its parent company.
Continue Reading Parent Company Furnishes Cancellation of Subsidiary’s Trademark Registration

In a precedential decision, the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (“TTAB”) held that the filing of a cancellation petition before the five-year anniversary mark of a registration tolls Trademark Act Section 14 for purposes of adding claims to a proceeding. Ashland Licensing & Intellectual Property LLC v. Sunpoint International Group USA Corp., Cancellation No. 92057294, 2016 TTAB LEXIS 219 (T.T.A.B. June 7, 2016) [precedential].
Continue Reading TTAB Precedential Decision: Time Limit for Adding Claims Is Tolled by Filing of Cancellation Within Registration’s Fifth Anniversary