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On June 20, 2019, upscale Canadian yoga-inspired apparel company, Lululemon Athletica, filed a lawsuit in the United States District Court for the Northern District of California alleging federal trademark infringement, federal trademark counterfeiting, and both federal and state unfair completion claims against discount retailer Ross Stores, Inc. and its athletic apparel supplier, Impulse Off Price Apparel (“IOPA”), for importing and selling cheap counterfeit copies of Lululemon’s high-end leggings. As known by many fans and consumers, Lululemon is a leading designer and retailer of high-quality, yoga-inspired athletic apparel.  The Canadian athletic apparel company founded in 1998 develops, manufactures, and sells premium…

Unfortunately for fragrance connoisseurs and veterans such as Eddie Roschi and Fabrice Penot, founders of the world-famous Le Labo’s Santal 33 fragrance, trademark law does not offer protections against copycats.  Although consumers often “instantly” link the scent to a brand as they would “instantly” link a brand name to a brand, trademark law does not protect scents in the same way as it protects name brands. In 2006, Eddie Roschi and Fabrice Penot, fragrance connoisseurs and veterans, founded Le Labo in New York.  The founders met while working together for Giorgio Armani’s perfume division.  Since its inception in 2006, the…

On June 7, 1859, inventor Dexter C. Slater patented a device for using “dog-power” to power a wide-range of small machinery (U.S. Patent No. 24,338).  As silly as such an invention may seem in today’s technologically driven world, Mr. Slater’s invention was not unique in its time.  In the 19th century, a period when dogs were not only “man’s best friend”, but also diligent workers, inventors patented devices and methods for using “dog-power” to operate machinery.  Inventions similar to Mr. Slater’s device include Heinrich Feldt’s dog-powered sewing machine and H.M. Childs’ dog-powered butter churn. U.S. Patent No. 24,338 describes a…

Both the state of Georgia and a non-profit corporation, Public.Resource.Org (PRO) have filed writs of certiorari with the United States Supreme Court seeking its decision on whether annotations commissioned and approved by the state may be copyrighted. Stated differently, that is, in the manner in which PRO asserts the issue, these parties seek to figure out whether citizens can have access to the raw materials of our democracy. This case arises out of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated (OCGA), which was re-codified and annotated in the 1970s. At this time, the Code Revision Commission of the Georgia General Assembly…

California-based retailer, Patagonia, recently filed a lawsuit against Anheuser-Busch InBev’s new “Patagonia” beer brand alleging it unlawfully obtained rights to that mark and further that the mark infringes its trademark rights. The lawsuit alleges Anheuser-Busch is deliberately attempting to take advantage of Patagonia’s tremendous goodwill cultivated in their brand. Patagonia has been in business for more than forty years and has been involved in designing, developing, marketing, and retailing outdoor apparel, sportswear, and related products. Indeed, the clothier’s products now include a wide range of apparel products and equipment, including technical products designed for climbing, skiing and snowboarding, surfing, fly…