In Miami Tech, Inc. v. Perez, the Court granted the patent attorney for the Defendant’s motion to dismiss for failure to state a patent infringement claim for which relief can be granted. Case No. 13-CV-21681. The declaratory action asked the court to declare that the patent registration No. 8,348,071 was invalid. [1] Plaintiff’s patent attorney alleged that Defendant committed inequitable conduct in obtaining the patent because allegedly […]
Keep Your Business On Track – Hire a South Florida Trademark Attorney Trademarks are all too commonly considered optional to many businesses. However, having a trademark attorney register your trademarks is one of the best business decisions that your business can make because hiring a trademark attorney to file your trademark application requires a small fee in comparison to the time and money should you later be forced to stop using your business name or slogan. Doing It Yourself In too many cases, individuals forgo hiring a trademark attorney. This is a mistake. Many mistakes will go unnoticed at the Trademark Office because the Trademark Office does not […]
Hooters of America, et al. v. Nikki’s Escort Service, et al.[1] is a trademark litigation case you don’t see everyday. Hooters delivered a day-after-Christmas surprise when the company’s trademark attorney filed suit against Nikki’s Escort Service. Hooters trademark attorney alleges that Nikki’s Escort Service tarnished Hooter’s incontestable trademarks[2]. In order to do so, Hooters trademark attorney discusses the restaurants trademark and alleged trade dress rights. For example, Hooters trademark attorney claims Hooters has trade dress protection in its “casual, beach-themed restaurants” that have “rough-hewn, beach shack-inspired interiors of its restaurants featuring brown and bring orange color, wood paneling, big-screen TV sports programming, and irreverent signage uniquely distinguish Plaintiffs’ establishments from other restaurants.”[3] In addition, Hooters trademark attorney claims trade dress rights to the female Hooters uniform “featuring a white tank top with the Hooters Owl logo, and bright orange dolphin shorts.”[4] The Hooters trademark attorney indicates that the approximately 375 Hooters restaurants also support organizations such as “Make-A-Wish Foundation, U.S.O. Special Olympics, American Diabetes Association, Juvenile Diabetes Foundation, Muscular Dystrophy Association, and Operation Homefront.”[5] The complaint alleges that Nikki’s Escort Service and its owner Nikki Swafford used Craigslist to entice cocktail waitresses to join the escort service. In particular, Nikki posted an ad on craigslist in Florida that said “NOW HIRING HOOTERS GIRLS $100 PER HOUR.” In addition, the ad included a picture of a female waitress wearing the hooters uniform in a hooter restaurant. One might think that a cease-and-desist request would end the dispute. Most likely, the hooters trademark attorney also thought the same. However, when the trademark attorney contacted Nikki’s, Ms. Swafford profanely responded and hung up. To the Hooters trademark attorney’s surprise, the ad changed after the phone call. The craigslist [...]
Businesses commonly ask the question: “Can we trademark our slogan.” In many cases, the answer is a resounding YES! A trademark attorney can help your business protect your slogan if the slogan is used in a manner that identifies and distinguishes the goods or services of your business from the goods or services of your competitors. The slogan cannot be generic because generic phrases are not […]
Car Accidents are tragic events that alter the lives of not just the physically injured, but also the families. It is particularly tragic to read about personal injury car accidents that […]
