On behalf of The Myers Law Group posted in Trademarks on Tuesday, May 5, 2015. Sometimes potential trademark claims aren't always what they seem. The grocery chain Trader Joe's is appealing after losing a lawsuit to enforce its trademark against a Canadian individual who operates a store called "Pirate Joe's." For the past three years, Michael Hallatt has operated a grocery store that sells thousands of dollars of Trader Joe's goods in Vancouver. Mr. Hallatt opened his store in 2012, and Trader Joe's immediately contacted him to stop his operation. When he refused, Trader Joe's sued in federal court in the state of Washington. [...]

On behalf of The Myers Law Group posted in Trademarks on Thursday, April 2, 2015. Protecting intellectual property is very important in the food industry. Recently, Ina Garten, otherwise known as the Food Network cooking show host, the "Barefoot Contessa," sued a California company called OFI Imports, Inc. for selling unauthorized "look-alike" frozen dinners. Although Garten asked OFI to stop selling the dinners, which were manufactured by "Contessa Premium Foods," the company refused and eventually went out of business. Garten's lawsuit seeks to stop further sales and award damages. The food industry has provided a number of interesting examples of intellectual property disputes. For [...]

By The Myers Law Group posted in Trademarks on Friday, December 23, 2016. It is no surprise that the Kardashians are always in the news. This time the companies of Khloe, Kourtney, and Kim have filed an opposition to Blac Chyna's registration for the trademark, Angela Renée Kardashian-her future married name once she marries Rob Kardashian. With Rob and Chyna's on again/off again relationship status the matter could end up being irrelevant, but read on to learn about the current Kardashian debacle. The companies allege that the Kardashian brand will "suffer damage including irreparable injury to their reputation and goodwill" if Blac Chyna were [...]

By The Myers Law Group posted in Trademarks on Friday, December 16, 2016. Michael Jordan Scores a Win in China's Highest Court The majority of Michael Jordan's victories have been on the basketball court, but now he can add a victory that took place at China's highest court to his list of accomplishments. After four long years, Mr. Jordan won a landmark trademark case against Qiaodan Sports Company, a company that he has accused of profiting off his name. How? Qiaodan is the Mandarin transliteration of "Jordan". The customer confusion is easy to understand. The Qiaodan storefront features the silhouette of a basketball player [...]

On behalf of The Myers Law Group posted in Trademarks on Monday, August 10, 2015. A trademark (or service mark) is a source identifier for goods and/or services. Under trademark law, a trademark owner receives basic trademark rights in a mark simply by using that mark in commerce. However, the rights one receives based upon use without registering are limited to the geographic area in which the use has occurred. So, for example, if a trademark owner has only sold in a single state, their rights would be limited to that state and adjacent areas that would be considered within the zone of natural [...]