California Lawyers Association Webinar June 15: "Trademark Cases To Remember From A Year To Forget"

The IP Section of the California Lawyers Association (f/k/a the California Bar Assn.) will host a webinar on June 15th from 1:00 PM to 2:30 PM (Pacific Standard Time), entitled "Trademark Cases To Remember From A Year To Forget." Martin B. "Marty" Schwimmer and Yours Truly will share the spotlight in what we hope to be an informative and entertaining presentation. CLE credit is available. Details and registration here.

The TTAB is where the rubber hits the road in terms of trademark registrability. Speakers shall peruse a formidable pile of failure-to-function cases that have made the trademark practitioner’s journey more problematical. The TTAB’s latest surname decision raised the bar to registration, and it decisions on Section 2(e)(5) functionality continue to trip up would-be registrants of product configurations. Speakers will address SCOTUS’ Lexmark decision on “standing,” and the TTAB’s consideration as to whether a plaintiff is “entitled to bring a cause of action.”

Turning to the contours of trademark enforceability, the speakers will discuss SCOTUS’ decision in the genericness case involving the mark BOOKING.COM and the Tiffany v. Costco lawsuit involving Costco’s use of the term “Tiffany Setting,” and will consider how functionality limits the protection of product configuration, including protection of Gorilla Glue blister packs, the POCKY-brand chocolate cookie sticks, and a rainbow of adhesives in a dental adhesive gun.

The speakers will review appellate cases targeting the RedBubble online marketplace and the issue of intermediate liability, parody and free speech, as it relates to the BAD SPANIELS dog toy case, and the recent Nike “Satan Shoes” dispute.

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Text Copyright John L. Welch 2021.