By Ariana Zhao and Daniel Jason Ain Golf legend Jack W. Nicklaus recently secured a decisive legal victory against the company that bears his name, Nicklaus Companies, LLC (the “Company”). The jury’s verdict marked the latest chapter in an unfortunately long-running legal saga over the control, branding, and reputation of...
By Deena R. Merlen and Katie Bigley RPJ’s corporate intellectual property practice is overseen by Partner Deena R. Merlen and Business and Legal Affairs Manager Katie Bigley, who share the following important warnings about fraudulent USPTO communications and misleading solicitations. When you submit a trademark application to the United...
Let’s say I, a busy attorney, am late leaving work and have to run a few errands on the way home. I’m driving on Route 1 past strip malls and big box stores, trying to remember where the heck is Home Depot. Far ahead, I see an orange something on...
By Nafsika Karavida and Lucia Mead Last week, in a significant win for Janssen Pharmaceuticals (a Johnson & Johnson company), the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit (“CAFC”) upheld the district court’s ruling in Janssen Pharmaceuticals Inc. v. Teva Pharmaceuticals USA Inc., affirming that Teva had failed to...
by Daniel Jason Ain In a landmark legal action, Disney and Universal have jointly filed a lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California against generative A.I. image platform Midjourney. This marks the first time that major Hollywood studios have sued A.I. startups for copyright infringement....
By Gregory Feit When a plaintiff wins a trademark infringement case against a corporation under the Lanham Act, can it seek the disgorgement of profits from a corporate affiliate that was not named as a defendant in the suit? In its February 26, 2025 decision in Dewberry Group, Inc. v....
by Deena R. Melen The United States Patent and Trademark Office (the “PTO”) has announced changes to the fees charged in connection with trademark registration. This includes increases to many existing fees and the introduction of certain new fees. The PTO is introducing new fees for applications that are incomplete...
In a recent article for Success.com, RPJ’s Nafsika Karavida explores the escalating trademark dispute between WordPress founder Matt Mullenweg and hosting provider WP Engine. She provides valuable insight into the legal complexities of the case and the potential impact on businesses that depend on the open-source CMS. The article describes...
By Gregory P. Feit Last month, in 1-800 Contacts, Inc. v. JAND, Inc., DBA Warby Parker, the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit addressed whether purchasing a competitor’s trademarks in the context of keyword search advertising amounts to trademark infringement. Adopting what it termed the “consensus view,”...
By Nafsika Karavida Intellectual property (IP) is often a company’s most valuable asset. Whether it is an invention or a creative work, the law generally considers the person who made it the owner – and in the workplace context, many times that person is an employee. Without a written agreement,...