TTABlog Report: Leo Stoller Marches On

As we ponder whether Barry Bonds' assault on Hank Aaron's home run record will provide a shot in the arm to baseball, let's not forget the record-setter in our own little world of trademark law. Who holds the record for most requests for extension of time filed in a three-month period? Come on! Take a wild guess! [Here's a hint: he lives in Chicagoland and he's a Cubs fan].


Chicago Federal Court Declines to Restrain Stoller's Filings: On December 15, 2005, after reviewing Leo Stoller's "filing history" as well as Judge Coar's Memorandum Opinion in the George Brett case (see below), the Executive Committee of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois issued a Citation directing Leo Stoller to inform the court "of any claim by him why the Executive Committee should not impose reasonable and necessary restraints upon Mr. Stoller's ability to file civil suits in this District."

Mr. Stoller filed his Response on or about February 27, 2006, in which his counsel stated that he "acknowledges that he should have heeded the court's admonishments and has retained counsel with a more conservative and reasoned approach to protecting rights." His counsel urged that "any restraint would be directed to keeping Stoller on a proper course rather than one intended to bar the door."

On March 20, 2006, the Executive Committee issued a terse letter stating that "After discussion, the Committee will take no further action in this matter."


Stoller Requests for Extension Top 750 in 2006: Meanwhile, back at the Board, Leo Stoller's requests for extension of time to oppose have now topped 750 for the year 2006 (through March 24, 2006). That's an average of about 60 per week. Since his filing juggernaut got rolling in mid-November 2005, Stoller has obtained more than 1,000 extensions of time, each of 90 days. [For what it's worth, that's more than 90,000 days worth of extensions, amounting to nearly 250 years!] So far, however, it does not appear that any of them have led to the actual filing of an opposition.


Court Denies Stoller's Motion for Reconsideration of Brett Decision: The newly-launched IP Legal Lounge blog reports here on the District Court's March 15th Memorandum Opinion and Order denying Leo Stoller's motion for reconsideration of its decision in Central Mfg Co. v. Brett, Civil Action No. 04-C-3049 (N.D. Ill. Sept. 30, 2005). The original decision, granting summary judgment to the defendants and awarding attorney fees, was discussed here at the TTABlog.

Boris Umansky
At the aforementioned IP Legal Lounge, Chicago attorney and former Trademark Examining Attorney Boris Umansky focuses on state and federal court decisions within the Seventh Circuit pertaining to trademarks, copyrights, trade secrets, unfair competition, Internet law, and related areas.

Text Copyright John L. Welch 2006.