Based on a recent restitution submission prepared by Faegre Drinker, a federal judge in Harrisburg, Pa. awarded Eli Lilly and Company $1.9 million in restitution from an individual convicted of trafficking in drugs bearing counterfeit trademarks of Lilly and other pharmaceutical companies. The defendant in this matter was sentenced to 70 months in prison and … Continue reading “Counterfeiting: Why Crime Doesn’t Pay”
If trademark infringement and dilution are frequent headaches for brand owners, counterfeiting – which the U.S. Trademark Act defines as use of “a spurious mark identical with, or substantially indistinguishable from, a registered mark” – is a migraine. As a practical matter, counterfeiting in most cases renders perfunctory the task of analyzing the “likelihood of … Continue reading “Counterfeits Got You Down? An Ex Parte (Seizure) Might Cheer You Up!”
With the constant rise of counterfeiting, protecting one’s brand is now more important than ever. Many brand owners already take protective steps to protect their brands such as registering brands through trademark and copyright registrations and monitoring fraudulent use of said brands. However, with our current social media-driven world, connecting with the digitally native generations … Continue reading “Connecting with Digital Natives through Brand Protection”
I just recently left Singapore, where the lush gardens and iconic city skyline served as the backdrop for The International Trademark Association’s (INTA) 145th Annual Meeting. This was the second time that INTA’s Annual Meeting was hosted in Asia and the first time in Southeast Asia. While the location was originally planned for the 2020 … Continue reading “Singapore – Where Global IP Professionals Came Together”
Western companies with trademark rights in Russia are feeling the ripple effects of the Ukrainian conflict. In response to the economic sanctions and boycotts imposed by the U.S. and other Western countries, Russia has threatened to suspend the intellectual property rights of companies that have ceased operations in Russia. Additionally, there has recently been an … Continue reading “The Impact on Brands when Trademarks are Used in Military Strategy”
I don’t love surprises. Well, if you want to send me a surprise red velvet birthday cake, please feel free. Otherwise, I like being prepared – and infringement of intellectual property is one type of surprise that you can prepare yourself to handle. To assist in that effort, here’s a non-exhaustive list of questions you … Continue reading “Help! Our Intellectual Property is Being Infringed – An Investigatory Checklist”
E-commerce was already booming when the pandemic struck, and now it feels ubiquitous. Consumers spent $861.12 billion online with U.S. retailers in 2020, up 44.0% from $598.02 billion in 2019, representing 21.3% of total retail sales last year compared with 15.8% the year prior.2 The statistics only underscore what we’re all witnessing — technology stocks … Continue reading “Beyond whack-a-mole1: Maximizing the impact of your internet monitoring program”
Intellectual property rights holders are constantly seeking creative ways to protect their brands, including preventing counterfeit products from entering the marketplace. There are the traditional methods – such as federal trademark registration with the United States Patent and Trademark Office – that are well-known to most companies. However, many companies are less familiar with the … Continue reading “Protect Your Brand: U.S. Customs and Border Protection as Part of Your IP Enforcement Team”
The mechanics of litigation in the federal courts have changed dramatically over the course of the past two months. Intellectual property enforcement is certainly not immune to these changes. Now that stay at home orders have been in effect in many states, enforcing copyright, trademark and other intellectual property rights through litigation involves a different … Continue reading “IP Litigation Considerations in Light of Court Closures and Stay at Home Orders”
As many brand owners know, WHOIS data is the publicly available information on who has registered a particular internet domain name. In layman’s terms, WHOIS records are akin to land title or property tax records: a record of who owns the internet property of domain names available in .com, .net and other generic top-level domain … Continue reading “Restricted Access to WHOIS Data Jeopardizes Brand Owners Online”
