SDFL judge orders Tesla to "file a Notice of Related Action by the close of business on May 13, 2024 identifying the four other related actions pending in the Southern District of Florida, along with a brief explanation why those claims and defendants were not included in the instant [#ScheduleA] case."
This part, though, is really something. Basically: "We want to sue 1,907 people and we filed them in five separate cases to spare YOU, THE COURT the burden of 1,907 separate cases."
This is framed as a story about customer service, but I'd say it's really about platform IP enforcement and how it can chill perfectly legal speech.
"Holifield now fears mentioning companies or showing logos on her Instagram except in cases of a paid partnership. She avoids saying words like dupe or similar, or drawing comparisons between products—actions that have taken down other influencers’ accounts."
The name of late Colombian drug lord Pablo Escobar cannot be registered as an EU trade mark, the European Court of Justice ruled on Wednesday, after his brother tried to lay a claim.The court upheld the decision of the EU's intellectual property office (EUIPO) that refused a trade mark application by Escobar Inc. in 2022....
"Momofuku, the food empire founded by celebrity chef David Chang, is attempting to seize control of the market – or at least the name. The company has sent cease-and-desist letters to companies using the term 'chili crunch' and 'chile crunch' on their condiment labels and is trying to [register] 'chili crunch' with the US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO)." https://www.theguardian.com/food/2024/apr/04/chili-crunch-trademark-momofuku-david-chang#Trademarks
Well, here's a twist: American Airlines filed--and won by default--a #ScheduleA case against defendants who allegedly "carried out a scheme to defraud jobseekers in which they sent out emails holding themselves out as Recruitment Directors for American," using AA marks and "unauthorized copies of American's copyrighted images."
Am. Airlines v. Schedule A, 2024 WL 945262, at *1 (S.D. Fla. Feb. 16, 2024).
The plaintiff does have a trademark registration for the phrase UNICORN BOTTLE for use in connection with "reusable plastic bottles, sold empty, not for medical use, not for drinking purposes."
Is the defendant's use of the phrase "unicorn cap" likely to confuse?
Sazerac v. Central Standard - new complaint alleging infringement of GRIND mark (registered for use in connection with “alcoholic beverages except beers”):
A great anti-fascist initiative from Germany is detailed in this article. They are trademarking the fascist slogans marketed by neo-Nazis to prevent their use, then using the revenues raised to finance their operation. Win, win. #Fascism#NeoNazis#Germany#Trademarks
Another Seeger "If you can’t freeze it, you can’t seal it" order in a #ScheduleA case, this time with extra Zorro flair.
"In essence, the owners want to sneak up on the defendants and strike a blow to their counterfeiting operation, and do so under the cover of darkness. They want relief without giving defendants a chance to see what hit them–just like Zorro himself."
First observation: The accused products are STRIKINGLY different--different products, different designs. They don't seem to have anything in common other than the words "Luke Combs" appear somewhere in the listings. Here are just a few examples.
In other SCOTUS news, Herbal Brands has (not surprisingly) filed no response to Photoplaza's petition for cert (this is the Amazon personal jurisdiction case):
Wherein I dig into the Luke Combs lawsuit debacle, including why I think it's a #ScheduleA case and which one (of the at least eight he's filed) I think it is:
"[S]he discovered an email in her junk email folder. It was the notice of the lawsuit in October from Comb’s attorney giving her 21 days to respond. She never got that chance and says she was in the hospital when the email was delivered to her junk mail folder and sent to an email address she says she rarely uses."
So, none of these stories include the name of the case that Harness was involved in.
But on November 15, Judge Bucklo issued a default judgment in one of Combs' #ScheduleA cases that awards him "statutory damages from each of the Defaulting Defendants in the amount of two hundred fifty thousand dollars ($250,000) for willful use of counterfeit Luke Combs Trademarks on products..."
"Plaintiff argues that Defendants were not wrongfully enjoined ... But Plaintiff effectively waived that argument when Plaintiff voluntarily dismissed Defendants ... By dismissing Defendants rather than addressing the fair use argument, Plaintiff conceded the facts relevant to a determination under Rule 65(c) that Defendants were wrongfully enjoined."
European court rules drug lord Pablo Escabar's name can not be trademarked (www.reuters.com)
The name of late Colombian drug lord Pablo Escobar cannot be registered as an EU trade mark, the European Court of Justice ruled on Wednesday, after his brother tried to lay a claim.The court upheld the decision of the EU's intellectual property office (EUIPO) that refused a trade mark application by Escobar Inc. in 2022....