A Mrs. Winners® franchisee said to be operating in Henry County, Georgia faces multiple trademark counts arising from alleged refusal to sign a new proposed licensing agreement. On March 1, 2013, Mrs. Winners Brand Management LLC (“Winners Brand”) filed a complaint in the Gainesville Division of the U.S. […]
In a case that has already drawn considerable publicity, carpet giant Shaw Industries Group, Inc. (“Shaw”), of Dalton, Georgia, filed a complaint in the Northern District of Georgia against The Hershey Company, of Hershey, Pennsylvania, and Hershey Chocolate and Confectionary Corporation, of Wheat Ridge, Colorado (collectively, “Hershey”), asking the […]
On January 10, 2013, Atlanta Beltline, Inc. (“Atlanta Beltline”), a Georgia non-profit corporation, filed a complaint in the Northern District of Georgia against Andrew Realty Group, Inc., a Georgia corporation based in Sandy Springs, Georgia, and Alan Andrew (collectively, “Andrew Realty”), alleging that Andrew Realty is using domain […]
Classic rock fans may readily associate the name Gretsch with the late George Harrison’s Beatlemania-era “Duo Jet” electric guitar, a design reproduced as a limited-edition controller for The Beatles: Rock Band video game. However, it is another Gretsch guitar design, associated with an even earlier rock pioneer, that […]
Introduction Occasionally, intellectual property owners find themselves doing battle in proceedings conducted before boards administered by USPTO, rather than in the court system, such as in cancellation proceedings before the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (TTAB), in which a trademark owner petitions to cancel another’s federal trademark registration. […]
The Northern District of Georgia is the forum for several new trademark and copyright disputes, which are summarized below: Huddle House trademark case removed from Georgia Superior Court On September 17, 2012, defendants Two Views, Inc., John Bartholomew, and Elizabeth Bartholomew (collectively, “Two Views”), all of Caswell Beach, […]
Atlanta, recently dubbed hip-hop’s “center of gravity,” is now also the epicenter of a trademark lawsuit involving rights to the mark Playaz Circle®. On defense are not only Island Def Jam Music Group (“Def Jam”), but also Disturbing Tha Peace Recordings, Inc., the record label co-founded by rapper Christopher […]
Georgia IP Litigation 