Trademark squatting cases involving Korean companies have surged in recent years. The number of suspicious overseas trademark filings monitored last year reached a record-high 9,249 cases, up 84 percent from the previous year. Korean shaved ice dessert chain Sulbing suffered a major setback in its attempt to expand into China after becoming entangled in a lengthy trademark battle. The company ultimately won a legal dispute over brand rights but failed to gain meaningful traction in the copycat-cornered Chinese market.
VIZ Media Wins over IP infringement against Defaulting Defendants
Manga publisher VIZ Media wins its lawsuit against over 100 entities found to have willfully committed trademark and copyright infringement of its RWBY IP. …District Judge Lindsay C. Jenkins ordered on February 25, 2025, that the 131 remaining defendants in the lawsuit will pay $100,000 in damages for willful trademark infringement and another $100,000 in willful copyright infringement.
Jackson has taken aim at multiple sports legends in defense of his ‘Era 8’ brand. As Lamar Jackson continues to build a Hall of Fame résumé on the gridiron, he is taking on a host of other sports greats off of it. Months after filing a challenge to former Dallas Cowboys quarterback Troy Aikman’s trademark application for the word “EIGHT,” he has made a similar legal move over NASCAR great Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s trademark of the No. 8. A notice of opposition was posted on behalf of Jackson with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office on Wednesday, as first reported by trademark attorney Josh Gerben.
Nigeria has joined the International Union for the Protection of New Varieties of Plants (UPOV) as the 80th member of the leading international standard-setting organization in plant variety protection (PVP). President Bola Ahmed Tinubu signed Nigeria’s instrument of accession to the 1991 Act of the International Convention for the Protection of New Varieties of Plants that takes effect on March 27, 2025.
L.L.Bean files a lawsuit against 4imprint, alleging trademark infringement of its iconic ‘Boat and Tote’ bags. Discover the details of the case and its potential impact on both companies. L.L.Bean accuses 4imprint of ripping off its “Boat and Tote” trademark, which the retailer has used in connection with canvas carryall bags that it has marketed and sold since 1965.
EU General Court dismissed Mercedes Appeal on TM of G-Wagon Suv
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In a recent decision that underscores the European Union Intellectual Property Office (“EUIPO”)’s strict stance on distinctiveness, the European Union General Court dismissed Mercedes-Benz Group AG’s appeal, thereby, affirming the EUIPO’s refusal to register a figurative trademark depicting an off-road vehicle – specifically, the silhouette of Mercedes’ popular G-Wagon SUV – climbing a hill. The General Court’s decision reinforces the consistent line of EUIPO case law that mandates that “a minimum of distinctive character is sufficient for the absolute ground of refusal contained in [Article 7(1)(b) of Regulation (EU) 2017/1001] to be applicable.”