perfume_bottle.jpgIPNews® – L’Oreal USA Inc., a maker of fragrances using the Polo Ralph Lauren logo, claims that the U.S. Polo Association infringes the famous trademark by using its logo consisting of two horsemen, on fragrances.

The two companies have been in legal battles for nearly 30 years over conflicting trademarks.  The parties entered into a partial settlement in 2003 that allows the association to use its trademark on clothes, but L’Oreal argues that using the trademark on fragrances goes too far.

To continue reading, click: Polo Ralph Lauren Argues U.S. Polo Association Infringes Its Trademark

seedling.jpgIPNews® – The United States Supreme Court will rule on the doctrine of patent exhaustion as it relates to self-replicating products.

Monsanto sued Vernon Bowman, a farmer who recreated and planted patented Roundup Ready soybean seeds he bought from Monsanto, for patent infringement.  Bowman argues that the patent exhaustion doctrine takes away any power Monsanto has over the seeds when he purchased them, but Monsanto argues that he infringed its patent by recreating the patented product. 

To continue reading, click: Supreme Court to Rule if Planting Patented Seeds Constitutes Infringement

amazon.jpgIPNews® – Amazon and Apple have been ordered by a U. S. magistrate judge into settlement talks for the trademark lawsuit Apple filed against Amazon.

Shortly after Amazon launched an “app store” on its website, Apple filed suit in the Northern District of California claiming that Amazon was infringing its trademark and engaging in unfair competition.  U.S. Magistrate Judge Elizabeth D. Laporte hopes the two companies will be able hash out their differences before the case goes to trial.

To continue reading, click: Apple, Amazon Ordered to Settlement Talks in Trademark Infringement Case

twitter.jpgIPNews® – Agence France Presse and The Washington Post were found to have infringed a photographers copyright when they used photos that were posted to his Twitter account.

Photographer Daniel Morel was on the scene during the Haiti earthquake in January 2010.  Morel posted his photos from the aftermath on Twitter, which Agence France Presse claimed permitted it to use the photo.

To continue reading, click: Twitter Does Not Give News Services License to Lift Photos

cosmetics.jpgIPNews® – The Kardashian sisters are back in court with a $10 million counterclaim against them for trademark infringement.

The counterclaim was brought against the sisters and Boldface Licensing + Branding, a company that created the Khroma cosmetics line for the Kardashian sisters, by a Florida makeup artist who owns the trademark KROMA and uses the trademark on her cosmetics line.  The counterclaim was in response to a lawsuit filed by Boldface asking for a declaratory judgment allowing them to use the Khroma name.

To continue reading, click: Kardashian Sisters Face $10 Million Counterclaim for Trademark Infringement

nike.jpg.jpgIPNews® – The Supreme Court ruled that Nike’s covenant not to sue a competitive shoe maker renders moot the defendant’s counterclaim.

Nike originally filed the lawsuit against Already LLC for trademark infringement, which Already answered with a counterclaim alleging that Nike’s trademark is invalid.  When litigation costs became greater than the potential rewards, Nike attempted to get the case dismissed, but Already did not want to give up so easily.

To continue reading, click: Nike’s No-Sue Covenant Bars Counterclaim

ibm.jpgIPNews® – IBM was crowned the number one assignee of patents in 2012, for the 20th year in a row.

According to a report produced by IFI CLAIMS Patent Services, IBM acquired 6,478 patents in 2012 to top the list.  Surprisingly, tech giants Google and Apple, the two who seemed to make the most noise about their patent portfolios in the last year, only managed spots 21 and 22, respectively. 

To continue reading, click: IBM Tops the Patent Charts, Again

sony.jpgIPNews® – In order to take advantage of changes in European copyright law, Sony released 100 copies of a compilation of previously unreleased Bob Dylan recordings.

The European Union recently increased the length of copyright protection from 50 years to 70 years, however, a recording must be published prior to the end of the 50 year deadline to get the extended protection.  Sony just barely made the deadline, getting copies of the unreleased material into a handful of stores shortly after Christmas.

To continue reading, click: Sony Releases Bob Dylan Collection to Preserve Copyright

google.jpgIPNews® – The FTC released a decision last week stating that technology giant Google did not violate antitrust laws.

However, as a stipulation to the agreement, Google agreed to allow its competitors access to certain industry-standard patents that it holds.  Though the agreement is not binding on any other company, it is speculated that the agreement will serve as a guide for other technology companies, which could change the landscape of the patent wars.

To continue reading, click: Google’s FTC Deal Could Alter Landscape of Patent Wars

iphone.jpgIPNews® – Apple will likely have to make another expensive trademark purchase in order to be able to continue selling iPhones in Brazil.

After spending $60 million to purchase the iPad name from a company in China, Apple has run into a Brazilian company that has exclusive rights to the iPhone name in Brazil.  Gradiente, which owns the Brazilian trademark, said it does not have plans to sell its trademark to Apple and will use all means available to it to protect its intellectual property.

To continue reading, click: Apple Likely to Purchase IPHONE Trademark in Brazil