In 2015, Empire Distribution Inc., a record label, sued Twentieth Century Fox for trademark infringement. The lawsuit revolves around the television show Empire, a “primetime drama based around a fictional [record label] of the name.” Both the real-life record label and the fictional record label predominantly release hip-hop songs. The Lanham Act, the main law that […]
Disney doesn’t want you to hire “Big Hairy Guy,” a Chewbacca lookalike, for your child’s next birthday party. Disney and its corporate affiliates have filed a lawsuit against Characters For Hire, LLC (“CFH”) for copyright and trademark infringement. Though CFH changes the names of many of its characters, such as Darth Vader to “Dark Lord,”
On February 22, Hamilton: An American Musical producer Jeffrey Seller announced that Hamilton Uptown, the musical’s production company, settled a trademark and copyright infringement suit with online retail platforms SunFrog and GearLaunch. Hamilton Uptown and Creative Goods Merchandise filed the complaint against SunFrog, GearLaunch, and several John Doe defendants in October in the U.S. District
According to the The Fashion Law, Coach filed an action in a Manhattan federal court in February 2017 against various defendants for creating and distributing products that allegedly infringe upon its intellectual property. Interestingly, and rather unusually, Coach is not only seeking trademark protection, but also protection of trade dress of its hangtag design. Trade dress refers
As reported by The Fashion Law, Adidas has been trying to register “Adizero,” the name of a line of sneakers, with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) since 2009. Unfortunately for Adidas, the Chicago-based Christian Faith and Fellowship Church had already trademarked “Add a Zero,” a phrase the church uses on its merchandise, namely
Popular Netflix television show, “House of Cards” was sued for trademark infringement this week by Massachusetts company, D2 Holdings. According to the Hollywood Reporter, the company alleges that it owns the trademark for the show’s title, “House of Cards.” D2 Holdings seeks an injunction prohibiting the show from using the phrase, and requiring the show
When you hear the name “Kylie,” who comes to mind? If it were up to Kylie Jenner, the youngest member of the Kardashian-Jenner clan, it would be her. However, when you hear the name “Kylie” your first thought may be Australian pop artist Kylie Minogue. The question of who is “Kylie” is now up to
FTA. That is Ronda Rousey’s latest catch phrase for which she filed for a trademark earlier this week. The last trademark “Rowdy Ronda Rousey” (also trademarked) filed for is now the title of an upcoming movie featuring Tina Fey—“Do Nothing B***h.” Rousey has attracted a lot of attention this past week when she was featured
#OscarGiftBag is the new viral hashtag spurring controversy this awards season. According to the Hollywood Reporter, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has filed suit in a California federal court seeking an injunction and treble profits and damages against the marketing company Distinctive Assets for trademark infringement. Distinctive Assets specializes in promoting products
According the to the Hollywood Reporter, Fox filed a lawsuit on Monday seeking a declaratory judgment that will support its continued use of the title “Empire” for its television series of the same name. This trademark suit comes after the Network received demands from Empire Distribution (a company that represents musical artists such as Sean Paul and
According to the Hollywood Reporter, Oprah Winfrey was victorious in a recent trademark suit regarding the use of the phrase “Own Your Power.” The phrase, which appears on the cover of her magazine, O, The Oprah Magazine, and other various Oprah products, was allegedly a registered trademark of Simone Kelly-Brown, a motivational services entrepreneur. Kelly-Brown filed the suit
