In trademark infringement cases, it is sometimes helpful to have someone testify about likelihood of confusion. Typically, courts allow a witness with personal knowledge to testify about what they saw or heard. However, some witnesses don’t have personal experience about the facts in a case but they may have specialized information which may be helpful Read more about Trademark Infringement Litigation using Experts[…]
Trademark Use in Commerce In the United States, subject to one exception, trademark rights arise from use in commerce, regardless of whether or not the mark is registered. The first user of a mark generally takes priority over all subsequent users with respect to use of the mark in that market. The first user of Read more about 101 Series – Trademark Priority[…]
Trademarks are symbols such as logos and brand names used to identify products and services and are frequently a company’s most valuable asset.. In such a suit, recovery for the harm suffered by the unlawful trademark use can be problematic. To help navigate through the complexity of documenting and proving the economic and non-economic damages Read more about Damages in Trademark Litigation[…]
In the United States, trademark rights arise from use in commerce, regardless of whether or not the mark is registered. The first user of a mark generally takes priority over all subsequent users with respect to use of the mark in that market. The first user of a mark in commerce, labeled the senior user, Read more about Trademark Priority Rights[…]
The Economic Espionage Act of 1996 (EEA) provided a broader definition of what constitutes a “trade secret” and what constitutes trade secret theft, effectively replacing the 1948 Trade Secrets Act, which was limited to prosecution of federal employees. The EEA also was passed so as to serve as a universal trade secret theft act, overriding Read more about Protecting Trade Secrets[…]
Copyright law does not protect domain names, but Trademark law may. Generally, the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) has tried to apply traditional trademark law to the examination of domain name service mark applications. A domain name qualifies as a mark when it is used in connection with the sale or advertising of Read more about Trademarking Internet Domain Names[…]
A registered mark does not prevent all use of the mark. In some situations, another party may use someone else’s trademark to describe the qualities that the trademark represents rather than to use is as a source identifier. For example, use of a descriptive phrase or common name may be fair use. Fair use of Read more about Fair Use under Trademark Law[…]
Maintaining the Term of a Patent Utility patents apply to inventions and processes and are distinguished from design and plant patents. Under current patent law, the term of a new utility patent is 20 years. During the term of a patent, the patent gives the inventor the benefit of having the right to exclude others Read more about Term of a Patent[…]
A copyright owner’s right of distribution is limited by the first sale doctrine, which is an exception to the Copyright Act. The first sale doctrine is a legal principle that limits the rights to control content after a work has been sold for the first time. The first sale doctrine states that once a copyright Read more about The First Sale Doctrine under Copyright Law[…]
There are standards that must be met for admissibility of expert testimony in trademark infringement actions. Experts may have their methods challenged before they take the stand. Expert testimony may be excluded as speculative and unreliable if an expert’s methods are not based on sufficient facts or data, are not reliable, or are not applied Read more about Trademark Infringement Litigation[…]