09 Oct’20

Centripetal Networks v. Cisco Systems

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The 22-day bench trial in the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia concluded last week with a verdict in favor of Centripetal Networks for $1.9 billion in past damages and a running royalty of 10% for three years followed by a 5% royalty for an additional three years. The Centripetal Networks, Inc. v. […]

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28 Jul’20

USPTO v. Booking.com: Acquired Distinctiveness of a Generic Domain

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The Supreme Court (“Court”) in USPTO v. Booking.com resolved a dispute about whether a generic name can become eligible for federal trademark registration though the addition of an internet-domain-name suffix such as “.com.” The USPTO rejected applications by travel-reservation website Booking.com seeking federal registration of marks including the term “Booking.com.” The USPTO concluded that “Booking.com” […]

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28 Jun’20

Romag v. Fossil: Resolving a Circuit Split on Willfulness and Profit Awards for Trademark Infringement

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In the midst of the COVID pandemic, the Supreme Court resolved an issue that was split evenly between the circuit courts. The issue before the Court was whether the Lanham Act, which is the federal statute governing trademarks, required a plaintiff to prove that the defendant had willfully infringed their trademark before the plaintiff could […]

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27 May’20

Allen v. Cooper: North Carolina’s Piracy of Blackbeard’s Pirate Ship

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In a recent decision by the Supreme Court in Allen v. Cooper, Governor of North Carolina the Court opined that States are immune from copyright infringement. While the Court noted that Congress may still act to remove this blanket immunity that the States have over copyright infringement, this holding makes clear that States generally have […]

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