As digital technology and the online environment transform the distribution and use of intellectual property, our Copyright & Trademark group is on the front lines in protecting and enforcing our clients’ most important creative assets. Our trial-tested team represents a wide range of clients, from entrepreneurs to major corporations, from playwrights to media giants, and from individual songwriters to the country’s largest performing rights organizations.
Client News
Court Dismisses Antitrust Claims Against Acumen Brands
Judge Richard M. Berman of the Southern District of New York dismissed with prejudice antitrust claims brought against Paul, Weiss client Acumen Brands, Inc., an online western-wear retailer.
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The Supreme Court Holds That the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board’s “Likelihood of Confusion” Decisions Are Eligible for Issue Preclusion in Federal Court
On March 24, 2015, the Supreme Court of the United States issued an important decision in B&B Hardware, Inc. v. Hargis Industries, Inc., No. 13-352 (Mar. 24, 2015), holding that a "likelihood of confusion" decision by the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board ("TTAB" or "Board") is binding in a subsequent trademark infringement lawsuit if the ordinary elements of issue preclusion are met and the usages of the mark adjudicated by the TTAB are materially the same as those before the federal court. Although the Court was careful to limit its ruling and noted that issue preclusion would not apply to "a great many [TTAB] registration decisions," the opinion has potentially significant implications for a subset of trademark infringement actions, and it is likely to increase the importance of both TTAB proceedings and judicial review of TTAB decisions.
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