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Christian Louboutin recently claimed victory in a years long lawsuit against a Dutch retailer for selling high-heeled women’s shoes bearing red soles. In 2012, Louboutin sued Van Haren, the Dutch company, which operates affordable footwear outlets, in a court in The Netherlands. A few years prior, in 2010, Louboutin obtained registrations for its iconic red soles in the region. Nonetheless, Van Haren argued the luxury brand’s trademark invalidly combined color and shape, that is, the particular red shade as applied to the sole of a pump. Under EU trademark law, common shapes, such as shoes, are not protected. Judges at…

For 90 years, ranging from 1790 to 1880, the government required every patent application to be accompanied by a working scale model of the invention, which could be no larger than 12 inches on each side. This practice terminated after the Patent Office ran out of space to store all of the models. The Rothschild Petersen Patent Model museum in New York maintains the largest private collection of patent models, housing over 4,000. Currently, applicants are neither required nor generally permitted to submit any type of working model unless the Patent Office deems it necessary for proper examination. Once returned…

The creators behind a raunchy comedy featuring Melissa McCarthy and cast of puppets are being sued by the educational nonprofit organization behind “Sesame Street.” McCarthy portrays a police officer who teams up with a new puppet partner to solve “the brutal murders of the former cast of a beloved classic puppet television show.” Sesame Workshop, the nonprofit, claimed the new film, titled “The Happytime Murders” through its creators, STX Productions, wrongfully misappropriates the “Sesame Street” trademark, trusted brand, and goodwill for promotional purposes. The complaint further alleges that defendants do not own or have any right to the “Sesame Street”…

Ivanka Trump’s fashion brand was issued thirteen new trademarks in China within the last three months, seven of which issued in May alone. Further, the company was granted provisional approval for eight more applications, which will be finalized if no objections are brought within a three month period. These filings apply to items the brand currently sells as well as others that it seeks to prevent third parties from selling under the its brand. Indeed, the trademarks have been registered for coffins, baby blankets, bamboo craft, perfume, makeup, bowls, mirrors, furniture, coffee, chocolate, honey, and other goods and services. Registration…

Lisa Frank, Inc. recently settled a copyright infringement lawsuit against a Canadian company, Orb Factory. The Tucson-based company filed suit in 2015 in the U.S. District Court in Arizona alleging Orb Factory copied its protected images on its packaging. Lisa Frank’s vibrantly colored school supplies, stationary, and other unique items were known and loved by every little girl in the 1980’s and 1990’s and feature designs of unicorns, tigers, and other fanciful creatures. In its complaint, Lisa Frank cited the fact that its brand attained iconic status as a result of the “unique look and quality” of its product line.…

The new Music Modernization Act combines provisions of four separate legislative initiatives into a single bill that is expected to reform the music licensing system. In particular, the Act proposes to create the Mechanical Licensing Collective (MLC), an independent not-for-profit organization selected by the Copyright Office. This licensing organization would create a publicly accessible database storing song ownership information and provide a blanket mechanical license for digital streaming. While there are currently other royalty collection societies for performance copyrights, such as ASCAP and BMI, there has never existed an organization that provides licenses for mechanical copyrights. Under the MLC regime,…

Omni Legal Group’s Ariana Santoro was recently honored by being invited to attend the annual College and Career Day at Alliance Margaret M. Bloomfield High School in Huntington Park. While there, Ms. Santoro inspired students with college on the horizon by regaling them about her college experience in obtaining two degrees and unusual path to becoming a patent attorney. Ariana emphasized how keeping an open mind and pursuing interesting opportunities while in college pushed her towards her eventual success. She engaged the students of multiple classes by providing a primer on intellectual property law and even demonstrated exemplary patented client…

Apple Inc. recently patented the design of the Apple Store. The tech giant received a design patent in China in 2015, which was filed in the United States that same year. The design patent covers a “Building” and the patent figures feature a four support beam structure. This particular design was used for the Zhongjie Joy City Apple Store in China, which ended up only including two support beams.

In two recent decisions by the United States Supreme Court, the constitutionality of inter partes review was determined. Inter partes review (IPR) is a procedure within the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) which authorizes a board (namely, the Patent Trial and Appeals board) to reconsider and cancel an already-issued patent claim. Any person who is not the patent owner may petition for such review. The first case, Oil States Energy Services, LLC v. Greene’s Energy Group, LLC, involved a patent owned by Oil States and relating to technology for protecting wellhead equipment used in hydraulic fracturing. Oil States…