Most larger group health plans are self-funded, which means the employer, not an insurer, is primarily responsible for paying benefits. These plans also are likely to require employee contributions towards the cost of benefits, and those contributions typically are paid to the employer (not a trust) on a pre-tax basis through a cafeteria (Section 125) plan.

Catchy phrases don’t always function as trademarks. %CUT% Melissa Benson wanted to trademark her slogan “Still Spooning”. It appeared on her interesting mix of goods, flatware and fishing lures. Milk & Honey LLC, who sells houseware using the same trademark, opposed the registration. The Trademark Trial and Appeal Board didn’t accept Milk & Honey’s objection based on Benson’s mark being merely a descriptive argument. But, the Board accepted Milk & Honey’s second argument that the words didn’t function as a mark. The Board looked at Benson’s specimens of use and determined that the consuming public would perceive the words as ornamental and reference to the engraving on the goods. So the opposition was sustained and the mark wasn’t registered.

During the 2016 to 2017 term, the US Supreme Court was able to put in the final word on some disputed areas of the law. But in others, not so much. %CUT% Here’s a roundup:

An employee can’t unlearn information that belongs to a former employer. %CUT% The “Inevitable Disclosure Doctrine” is a term of art in trade secret law. The Doctrine applies to bar a former employee with knowledge of the employer’s trade secrets and confidential information from accepting a similar role with the employer’s competitor. In Utilisave, LLC v. Miele, the Third Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed the entry of a preliminary injunction under the Doctrine. The preliminary injunction was based on the substantial overlap between the former employee’s old job and his new one which was basically the same role, in the same industry, for the same geographic territory. With this kind of overlap, the court felt the former employee was likely to use confidential information and trade secrets to the detriment of his former employer. The preliminary injunction was warranted even though there wasn’t actual misappropriation of any particular trade secret or confidential information.

Business divorces can put trademarks in limbo. %CUT% Devon Johnson and Latresa Moore launched the fashion and lifestyle magazine, PYNK, in 2011. It only took two years for the team’s relationship to sour. The parting of the ways was not all that simple. Johnson kept the magazine, but hasn’t posted new content for a long time. Moore set up her own ThinkPynk website and a Pynk Magazine Instagram feed. Johnson tried to trademark the word and design mark for “Pynk”. Moore opposed registration saying that she is a co-owner and Johnson can’t register the mark alone. The TTAB granted the opposition. The board said that it wasn’t possible to delineate what intellectual property and assets remained and with whom. Since Johnson could not show that he was the sole owner, he couldn’t register the marks.