Trademarks
Minecraft Developer Mojang and Zenimax/Bethesda Settle Trademark Dispute
In March this year, Swedish Minecraft developer Mojang and Zenimax/Bethesda Softworks settled a lawsuit over the trademark “Scrolls.” Mojang had filed a trademark registration for this mark on May 17, 2011, intending…
New Case: Evony, LLC v. Philip Holland
Evony, LLC v. Philip Holland United States District Court, Western District of Pennsylvania Case No. 2:2011cv00064, Filed On Januaru 18, 2011 Evony, LLC is a company that develops, publishes, and operates the game…
Analysis of First Amendment Defense in Trademark Cases
A recent decision coming from the Southern District of New York raises important implications about the usage of trademarks without permission in artistic works. While this case concerns the usage of unauthorized…
New Case: New World IP LLC v. Zoo Publishing Inc. et al
New World IP LLC v. Zoo Publishing Inc. et al United States District Court, Southern District of New York Case No.1:11-cv-02532, Filed on April 13, 2011 In April of 2011, New World brought…
New Case: RC3, Inc. v. Justin Bieber
RC3, Inc. v. Justin Bieber United States District Court, Middle District of Florida Case No. 3:2012cv00193, Filed on February 24, 2012 A game about jousting beavers has apparently upset Justin Bieber…
Trademark Storm Brewing over iCloud
iCloud Communications LLC. v. Apple Inc. United States District Court, District of Arizona Case No. 11-cv-01158, Filed June 9, 2011 Case Update: May 2012 In September of 2011, iCloud Communications…
Case Analysis: Sega v. MAPHIA
Sega Enterprises Ltd. v. MAPHIA et al. 857 F. Supp. 679 (N.D. Cal. 1994) The defendants in this copyright and trademark infringement case operated an electronic bulletin board service called “MAPHIA”…
Modern Warfare Domain Name Dispute for Activision
On July 15, 2011, Activision filed a complaint with the National Arbitration Forum in an attempt to get control of the domain name www.modernwarfare3.com. The website, which uses visuals from Activision’s Modern…
Case Update: Zynga Game Network v. Playdom
Zynga Game Network, Inc. v. Playdom, Inc. United States District Court for N.D. Cal. Case No. 3:09-cv-02748-EMC, Filed June 19, 2009 Case Update: This case was dismissed on November 18, 2010. On…
CASE UPDATE: Zynga v. John Does 1-5
Zynga Game Network, Inc. v. John Does 1-5 U.S. District Court, Northern District of California Case No. 09-cv-02441, Filed June 2, 2009 Final Update: This case was voluntarily dismissed without…
Zynga Files Two New Cases
Zynga Game Network, Inc. v. Duc Doan U.S. District Court, Northern District of California Case No. 09-cv-02958, Filed July 1, 2009 Case Update: This case was dismissed on September 25, 2009, following…
CASE UPDATE: Eros LLC v. Linden Research, Inc.
Eros, LLC et al v. Linden Research, Inc. et al U.S. District Court, Northern District of California Case No. 09-cv-04269, Filed September 15, 2009 Final Update: This case was moved from court…
Case Update: Zynga v. John Does 1-50
Zynga Game Network, Inc. v. John Does 1-50 United States District Court for N.D. Cal. Case No. 3:09-cv-02744-BZ, Filed June 19, 2009 Case Update: This case was dismissed on February, 18, 2011.…
Case Update: Nintendo v. Chan
Nintendo of America v. Daniel Man Tik Chan United States District Court for C.D. Cal. Case No. 2:09-cv-04203-JFW-PLA, Filed June 12, 2009 Case Update: This case ended on August 20, 2009, following…
Dillinger, L.L.C. Seeks Offer They Won’t Refuse
Dillinger, LLC v. Electronic Arts Inc. United States District Court, Southern District of Indiana Case No. 09-cv-01236, Filed October 1, 2009 Case Update: Some time ago we wrote about Dillinger, L.L.C. (…
Ads for XBox – NUads
Ads on Xbox As advertising continues to evolve for game platforms, the New York Times reports that Microsoft is set to launch a new suite of advertising tools called NUads (short for…
TTAB Affirms Disney’s Rights in “Pooh” Trademarks
Stephen Slesinger Inc. v. Disney Enterprises Inc. USPTO, Trademark Trial and Appeal Board No. 91179064, June 8, 2011 A panel of judges at the TTAB has ruled that a former licensee…
The Learning Company sues Zynga for use of “Oregon Trail”
The Learning Company v. Zynga Inc. United States District court for the District of Massachusetts Case No. 11-cv-10894, Filed June 07, 2011 The Learning Company (TLC), creators of the popular computer game…
How About If We Go With “Vulcan Mind” Instead?
Lucasfilm Ltd (Lucasfilm) has sensed a disturbance. They filed suit last week against “Jedi Mind, Inc.” (Jedi Mind) accusing the Nevada company of infringing Lucasfilm’s rights in the “Jedi” trademark (among other…
Patent/Trademark Search iPhone App
Banner & Witcoff’s IP LawyerTM is an iPhone application providing iPhone-customized full search access to patents* and trademarks issued by the United States Patent and Trademark Office as well as corresponding assignments.…