Alt Legal IP News – Issue #51
Hannah Samendinger | August 22, 2017
New Alt Trademarks episode alert! Our guest is Suzann Moskowitz of the Moskowitz Firm. We discuss the Slants case in our first NSFW episode. Check out the episode here.
Not So Fancy
– Costco’s decision to make and sell “Tiffany” rings made them $3.7 million. They now must pay $19 million to Tiffany & Co.
– Crocs received a final refusal of one of their key design patents.
– The Chateau Marmont is not amused by the Cateau Marmont, a cat grooming service.
– Dupes are a new trend in the beauty world.
You Can’t Do That
– Gene Simmons received a good deal of attention for his trademark application seeking protection for a hand gesture. He abandoned the attempt, but reassured a reporter he has no regrets because “B****, I can do anything I want.”
– Will.i.am’s trademark application for “I AM” was rejected.
– A California Wells Fargo branch manager, who was previously convicted of laundering proceeds of a trademark scam, has been sentenced to 8 years in prison and ordered to pay over $1.5 million in restitution.
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– A man, representing himself, won a 6-year trademark dispute over his iTrump app name.
– A few weeks ago, a giant chicken appeared near the White House. The artist behind the bird filed a trademark application, which was suspended due to the recent Lee v. Matal decision. Check out the office action here.
– The US has launched a formal probe of Chinese intellectual property practices. China called the move “irresponsible.”
Odds and Ends
– Amazon’s 1-click patent is set to expire in September.
– Cardozo Law, my alma mater, just received a $200,000 grant from Google to launch a patent diversity project, focusing on helping women and minority entrepreneurs obtain patents.
– A man filed a petition to the Supreme Court, asking them to nullify the Google trademark due to genericism.
– A new documentary features interviews with 40 female attorneys over the course of 20 years, highlighting some of the challenges they have and continue to face.
– Motorola is working on a cell phone screen that will heal itself.