The U.S. Supreme Court has struck down the U.S.P.T.O.’s long-standing ban on the registration of trademarks comprising “scandalous” and/or “immoral” trademarks (read here). Petitioner Erik Brunetti has tried to register the mark F-U-C-T for a clothing line and claimed that the mark should be pronounced as four letters, one after the other. For obvious reasons, […]
The USPTO has issued a new examination guide with the weighty title “Examination of Marks for Cannabis and Cannabis-Related Goods and Services after Enactment of the 2018 Farm Bill.” Unfortunately, what many had hoped would be an opening for marijuana marks turns out to be a very narrow one indeed. Put briefly, the USPTO has […]
Patent infringement has long been subject to a special venue (site of litigation) statute, 28 U.S.C. 1400. Unlike general venue statutes which concentrate on where an injury took place, the nature of the parties, and convenience of the parties and courts; Section 1400 is very specific. It allows patent infringement suits only where “the defendant […]
When preparing to involuntarily terminate an employee, employers should consider the risk factors that may dictate the use of a separation agreement. For example: Is the employee in a protected class (age, race, religion, color, sex, national origin, mental or physical disability, veteran status)? Has the employee recently engaged in protective activity (such as taking […]
Luper Neidenthal & Logan is proud to partner with Five Strong Foundation as a sponsor of the 5th annual Columbus Derby Day, taking place on May 4, 2019 at Huntington Park in Columbus, Ohio. The Five Strong Foundation is a non-profit organization whose mission is to empower individuals with developmental disabilities through athletics, camaraderie and […]
A recent Ohio Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals case, based on some convoluted facts and possibly misguided in its outcome, nonetheless illustrates some very important business realities on the intersection of trade names and trademarks in Ohio. Wooster Floral & Gifts, LLC v. Green Thumb Floral & Garden Ctr., Inc., 2019 Ohio 63. Kimberly Gantz […]
The Notice of Proposed Rulemaking announced by the Department of Labor on March 7 ,if implemented, will raise the threshold for overtime eligibility so that employees will have to earn at least $35,308 a year ($679 a week) in order to be exempt from overtime pay for any hours worked over 40 in a workweek. […]
Our firm is pleased to announce three new attorneys have recently joined the firm and bring a variety of experience in litigation, construction, business and transportation. Douglas J. Segerman joins the firm as a shareholder and has been a trial lawyer in Columbus since 1996. Doug focuses his practice on business and construction litigation, non-compete […]
This Spring the Supreme Court will decide whether the mark FUCT, along with a reversed swastika, should be registered on the Principal Register as a U.S. trademark for a clothing line. The Court recently decided, in Matal v. Tam, 137 S. Ct. 1744 (2017) that the long standing trademark office policy against “scandalous or immoral” […]
LNL is proud to announce that William B. Logan, Jr. has been named to 2019 Top 50 Columbus Super Lawyer and Frederick M. Luper has been included in the 2019 Ohio Super Lawyers list. Logan and Luper were named for Bankruptcy and Creditor Debtor Rights/Insolvency and Reorganization Law. Super Lawyers selects attorney using a patented, […]
