Hokto USA is a subsidiary of Japan-based Hokuto Co. Ltd. Hokuto Co. grows non-organic mushrooms in Japan. Hokto USA produces the same mushroom varieties in the United States as Hokuto Co. does in Japan, but Hokto USA’s products are certified organic. To earn organic certification, Hokto USA’s plants are state…
Despite the uniform reaction of courts, trademark holders insist on filing lawsuits over gripe-sites. As discussed here in the past, websites that are created for the sole reason of complaining about a service or product, and which incorporate a trademark in doing so, are not guilty of trademark infringement. In…
An appellate decision from the Federal Circuit finds that the term Milanza is confusing when used in the same class of goods as Potenza and Turanza. Seemingly, these marks sound and feel similar. Bridgestone Corporation, owns trademark registrations for the marks Potenza and Turanza and conclusively established that it used…
In an ongoing litigation between Starbucks and an outfit called Black Bear Micro Brewery, the brewer of Mr. Charbucks and Charbucks Blend coffees, a New York Southern District judge found that notwithstanding the similarity in names and the fact that Charbucks was trying to capitalize on the Starbucks name, Charbucks…
In the recent case of Eva’s Bridal Ltd. v. Halanick Enterprises, Inc., Judge Easterbrook of the Seventh Circuit highlights the importance of managing a license of a registered trademark. One of the reasons that one applies for and obtains a trademark registration is to show ownership—instant identity—of a good or…