2023

In Brief:  Monster Energy couldn’t stop a Mad Monster Party. Here’s What Happened:   Monster Beverage Corporation, the maker of the Monster Energy drink, is a good example of extreme trademark enforcement. It is a well-known litigant both in the U.S. courts, before the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board and in courts all over the […]

In Brief:  The US Copyright cannot demand the deposit of a physical copy of a work for registration. Here’s What Happened:   Valancourt Books LLC is an independent small press based in Richmond, Virginia, specializing in new editions of neglected classics, with an emphasis on horror/supernatural and LGBT literature. (Some of its offerings appear in […]

In Brief:  Tacking is a very limited way to extend the protection of a trademark. Here’s What Happened:   In 1968, The Beatles’ recording company, Apple Corp. registered the trademark “Apple Music” for “gramophone records featuring music”. Apple Inc. purchased the mark from Apple Corp. In 2015, Apple Inc. applied to register “Apple Music” for […]

In Brief:   Hacks to cheat on popular video games results in massive damages. Here’s What Happened: Bungie, Inc. develops, distributes and owns the intellectual property rights in the popular video games, including “Destiny 2”. Mihai Claudiu-Florentin, is a Romanian citizen and the developer and proprietor of VeteranCheats.com.  Mihai hacked the Destiny 2 software, created cheats […]

In Brief:   No federal protection for trademarks related to ingesting a banned substance. Here’s What Happened: National Concessions Group (NCG) filed two trademark applications to protect its brand name “Bakked” in connection with a product identified as “an essential oil dispenser, sold empty, for domestic use. The astute Examining Attorney refused registration of the Bakked […]

In Brief:  A named inventor has to make a significant contribution to the claims in a patent. Here’s What Happened: Hormel Foods Corporation obtained a patent for a two-step process for precooking bacon and meat pieces. The first step involves preheating in a microwave oven and the second step involves cooking the meat in a […]

In Brief:  The unauthorized copying of NFTs results in a judgment for false designation of origin and cybersquatting. Here’s What Happened: Bored Ape Yacht Club, also known as Bored Apes, Bored Ape or BAYC, is a non-fungible token (NFT) collection. The collection features profile pictures of cartoon apes that are generated by an algorithm. The […]

In Brief:   Following up on this blog’s post of 3/7/23, the court ruled that a banana does not infringe a banana and an orange. Here’s What Happened: By way of background, Joe Morford, created a work that consisted of a banana and an orange duct taped to a green background with masking tape added around […]

In Brief: Calculating royalty damages for patent infringement isn’t easy; even against a bratty, no-show defendant. Here’s What Happened: Kanga Care LLC manufactures and sells baby diapers and related products. One of its patented products is a “Rump-a-rooz® One Size Cloth Pocket Diaper”. BumBum Babies LLC, started to sell a pocket diaper too. Kanga Care […]