Domain and Trademark Blog

A three-year trademark infringement battle has ended with a federal jury ruling against the restaurant chain Firehouse Subs, it has been reported.
In a unanimous decision, the jury decided in favor of the Myrtle Beach, S.C., business Calli Baker’s Firehouse Bar & Grill, which had also been claiming rights to the ‘firehouse’ mark.
The panel ruled that …

A Texas energy firm stands accused of registering two domain names for the express purpose of cybersquatting.
According to the Dallas Business Journal, two lawsuits have been filed against Christopher Faulkner, chief executive of Breitling Oil and Gas Corp.
Dallas-based Fusion Energy LLC has taken exception to the registration of the domain names …

A nonprofit organization has filed a trademark infringement suit against outdoor clothing manufacturer Eddie Bauer.
First Descents, which was set up in 2001 to introduce young cancer patients to kayaking, has taken exception to Bauer’s new brand names First Ascent and First Descent.
The charity believes the two names are too similar to its own brand and …

A trademark dispute has broken out between two rival fashion houses over the sale of red-soled shoes.
Christian Louboutin SA had asked the federal courts to offer protection to its products after Yves Saint Laurent launched similar footwear with colored soles.
The former secured a trademark for red-soled shoes in 2008 with the U.S. Patent and Trademark …

A satirical magazine has lost a domain name dispute it brought against a publishing company it claimed had piggybacked on its brand.
The Harvard Lampoon, which says takes its inspiration from the defunct British publication Punch, was denied the rights to lampoon.com, reports the Harvard Crimson. It suggested that the domain name’s owner, Florida-based Reflex Publishing, …

A restaurant was forced to change its name after infringing on a trademark held by the NFL’s Green Bay Packers.
The team owns the rights to the “Titletown” trademark, and chose to defend its intellectual property when the owners of Green Bay Distillery in Ashwaubenon announced the name for their new eatery.
Initially, they were planning to …

A British brewer has been found to have infringed on a rival’s trademark with one of its beer labels.
Samuel Smith said Cropton Brewery had used a “stylised white rose design” on labels for two of its beers, the BBC reports.
The presiding judge said Samuel Smith had registered the white rose design as a trademark in …

A Florida seafood business has launched a trademark dispute against hamburger chain Wendy’s.
In something of David versus Goliath battle, Phelan Holdings Inc., owner of Pincher’s Crab Shack, claims that the slogan “You can’t fake fresh,” which Wendy’s uses in some of its advertising, is its own trademarked tagline, reports the Columbus Dispatch.
Court papers state that …

DC Comics has won a dispute over the domain name manofsteel.com, it has been reported.
The legendary comics company has been determined to retrieve the manofsteel.com name in order to capitalize on the planned 2012 film release of the same name.
Fusible.com reports that on July 19 a single-member panel of the National Arbitration Forum ruled that …

A cupcake company is suing a rival firm in a trademark dispute over its name.
Sprinkles Cupcakes, which has a flagship store on Santa Monica Boulevard in Beverly Hills, has filed a trademark infringement lawsuit against Connecticut-based bake shop Pink Sprinkles.
The suit claims the similarity in names could cause confusion in the marketplace.
Sprinkles opened its Beverly …