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IP BLAWG
Landlord’s Blind Eye Causes Sunglasses Burn
Beverly A. Berneman
12/3/19Luxottica Group S.A. owns the trademark, Ray-Ban, and its subsidiary owns the trademark, Oakley, for sunglasses. According to Luxottica, International Malls’ subtenants were selling counterfeit Ray-Bans and Oakleys. Luxottica sued the landlords for trademark infringement. The landlords defended the action asserting that they aren’t the infringers; their subtenants are.
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IP BLAWG
Go Cubs Swag Go
Beverly A. Berneman
11/15/16As the Cubs neared their historic World Series win, opportunists saw a way to cash in. %CUT% Imagine if you will, it’s September 2016. Cubs are on their way to breaking a 108 year losing streak. The streets of Chicago are lined with euphoric fans. Tables full of Cubs merchandise are everywhere. Street vendors are encouraging fans (whether die hard or fair weather) to purchase logo branded merchandise to support the Cubs. But there’s a problem with this picture. Some of those vendors don’t have a license from the Cubs. So, their blue, red and white merchandise is counterfeit. The Cubs filed suit against 84 counterfeit vendors seeking an injunction. The suit was settled with a confidential settlement agreement and a permanent injunction. What isn’t confidential is that the vendors acknowledged that their products bear “substantially indistinguishable” or “confusingly similar” imitations of the Cubs’ marks. The vendors also admitted they have no legitimate right to use those marks.
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