In Secalt SA v Wuxi Shenxi Construction, a trade dress dispute, the US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit has affirmed the district court’s grant of summary judgment in favour of the defendant and its finding of exceptionality. The Ninth Circuit, like the lower court, found no evidence that the matter sought to be protected by the plaintiff was non-functional.
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In Kraft Foods Global Brands LLC v Y Merba Israel Ltd, the Supreme Court has reversed the district court’s dismissal of a passing-off action brought by Kraft Foods Global Brands LLC against the retailers of Go-Go’s sandwich cookies for allegedly copying the trade dress of its Oreo cookies.
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French legislators have resurrected a provision that would effectively prohibit drugs manufacturers from enforcing their trademark rights in a tablet once the relevant patent has expired.
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UK IP law will allow for some variation on a single colour mark, but public perception remains key to establishing distinctiveness and claiming ownership. At least, that’s the takeaway following Cadbury’s victory over Nestlé in its claim to the colour purple for chocolate.
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Procter & Gamble (P&G) has found itself in a potentially tricky trademark situation after genuine, cut-price Duracell batteries in packaging that screams ‘counterfeit’ at consumers found their way onto online marketplace Amazon.com. The incident highlights the trademark issues that can arise when working with original equipment manufacturers (OEMs).
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As the Australian government prepares its final and fatal blow to advertising stalwart Marlboro Man’s cool and macho image by banning branded packages, familiar battle lines are being drawn by those in the pro and anti plain packaging camps. But the trademark lobby may hold the aces in terms of derailing the legislation.
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Keep A Breast Foundation v. The Seven Group, 2011 US Dist. LEXIS 83004 (S.D. Cal.)
Plaintiff sued defendant for trademark infringement, including claims based on trade dress and California unfair business practices. Defendant moved to dismiss these claims. The court granted in part and denied in part.
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Apple Inc. v. Samsung Electronics Co., 2011 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 65679
Apple sued Samsung for trade dress infringement on its iPhone and iPad product line. Apple sought expedited discovery before a hearing for a preliminary injunction. Samsung asked for reciprocal expedited discovery. While the court agreed that Samsung was entitled to parity, this did not allow Samsung to seek discovery on Apple’s future products. Apple had based its preliminary injunction motion on its current product line and so the tradedress of future products is irrelevant (therefore not worthy of expedited discovery treatment) to the upcoming motion.
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Fiji Water Co., LLC v. Fiji Mineral Water USA, LLC, 2010 U.S.Dist. LEXIS 109155
The plaintiff (the company behind the well known Fiji Water) sued defendant for trade dress infringement based on their competing water, also bottled in Fiji. Defendant, who had sold its water under another name in a different style of packaging prior to joining the US market, recently adopted a blue, square bottle, with transparent labeling similar to that used by Plaintiff. Plaintiff, who has received design awards for its packaging, sought a preliminary injunction. After doing a detailed analysis of the packaging and its aesthetic rather than utilitarian properties, the court granted the injunction.
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