Trademark Infringement

There's room for only one cupcake company called Sprinkles, and that's the one in Beverly Hills, a newly settled lawsuit seems to suggest. The popular chain, which first launched in Southern California in 2005, recently settled a trademark infringement lawsuit against a Fairfield, Conn., bakery that was calling itself Pink Sprinkles. That business, which opened in 2009, is now calling itself the Pink Cupcake Shack. Its website calls the shop “Fairfield's first cupcake boutique in Brick Walk Promenade” and touts the staff's decades of experience.

--London has overtaken Dubai as the world's prime shopping destination, according to a new report. The British capital attracts the most retail brands among all the great shopping cities around the globe, according to commercial real estate firm CBRE. Last year, London and Dubai tied for first place and beat out shopping hot spots such as New York, Hong Kong and Paris. CBRE said London draws about 56% of all international brands, with Dubai close behind at 54%. In third place is New York, followed by Moscow, Paris and Hong Kong.

Westec Security Inc. said Monday that it has filed a trademark infringement suit against Western Resources Inc. of Topeka, Kan., and its wholly owned subsidiaries, Westar Security Services and WestSec Inc. of Irving, Texas. The suit, filed in Municipal Court in Santa Monica, seeks an injunction to stop the use of the Westar and WestSec trademarks. The suit also alleges that use of those trademarks dilutes the value of the well-known Westec trademark.

For confectionery-crazed Angelenos, the newest development in vending culture is the sweetest one yet: a 24-hour cupcake-dispensing machine at Sprinkles, the Beverly Hills-based Holy Grail of cupcakery. And it's pink. The automaton will vend freshly-baked cupcakes, mixes, apparel and other goods, according to its Facebook page . The company has yet to announce a launch date. Customers visiting the machine's profile on the social networking site seemed enthused, with comments deeming the cupcake ATM “very dangerous” and “ingenious.” One visitor wrote: “Is this a GREAT COUNTRY or what?

In an apparent effort to scare away cloners of its new line of personal computers, IBM has filed trademark infringement suits against two computer accessory makers, including AST Research Inc. in Irvine. The suits, filed in the U.S. District Courts in Los Angeles and San Francisco, allege that AST and Orchid Technology Inc. of Fremont misused IBM's trademarked name of its new system, "PS/2," in a recent series of ads.

For confectionery-crazed Angelenos, the newest development in vending culture is the sweetest one yet: a 24-hour cupcake-dispensing machine at Sprinkles, the Beverly Hills-based Holy Grail of cupcakery. And it's pink. The automaton will vend freshly-baked cupcakes, mixes, apparel and other goods, according to its Facebook page . The company has yet to announce a launch date. Customers visiting the machine's profile on the social networking site seemed enthused, with comments deeming the cupcake ATM “very dangerous” and “ingenious.” One visitor wrote: “Is this a GREAT COUNTRY or what?

Scott Smith says he can identify with Entrepreneur magazine's current cover story, "Entrepreneurs Under Attack." That's because the Sacramento PR man is fighting trademark infringement accusations from a bigger company: Entrepreneur Media, the magazine's Irvine-based parent. In January 1998, Entrepreneur Media sent a cease-and-desist letter to Smith and his public relations firm, Entrepreneur PR. The letter said that the publisher had registered the word "entrepreneur" in 1982.

In the nation's largest-ever trademark infringement award, a Los Angeles jury Tuesday ordered pharmaceutical giant Pfizer Inc. to pay a British company $143 million for stealing the Trovan name to market its controversial antibiotic. Legal experts called the verdict "staggering," saying it raises the stakes for companies that deliberately infringe other companies' trademarks. Jurors said Pfizer, the second-largest U.S.

A shirt tab here. Some pocket stitching there. Names that ring a bell. What might seem like barely noticeable details to the customers who wear the clothes are often enough to send a garment maker scurrying into court. "People in this industry are very sensitive to their trademark rights," said Donald A. Kaul, a Washington attorney. Marsha Stafford, 33, and Susan Duran, 35, of Albuquerque, N.M.

Compaq Claims Trademark Infringement: Compaq Computer Corp. filed a trademark infringement suit against CMS Enhancements Inc. in Tustin, maintaining that CMS illegally used Compaq's name in disks and tape storage units for personal computers. The federal suit seeks to stop CMS from using Compaq trademarks, and asks for treble damages. (Filed Aug. 14, 1990. Case No. 90-4338).

The iPad trademark battle between Apple Inc. and Proview Technologies has jumped from China to the U.S. as a new lawsuit accuses the tablet maker of committing fraud in 2009. Proview, a Shenzhen, China-based company known largely for making computer monitors, filed a complaint in Santa Clara County Superior Court, accusing Apple of forming a company in London with the sole purpose of purchasing the trademark for the "iPad" name on behalf of Apple. That company was called IP Application Development and was a subsidiary of Apple, Proview said in the California lawsuit.

Apple's iPad has been cleared for sale after a Shanghai court turned down a sales injunction request made by Proview Technology as the two companies argue over who owns the rights to the iPad trademarked name. The dispute between Apple and Proview is one that is playing out in multiple Chinese courts, with some rulings going Apple's way and others being decided in Proview's favor. The Shanghai decision is the latest in the complicated and messy dispute between the two companies.

Apple's fight for the iPad trademark in China has hit yet another snag. On Monday, a lawyer for Shenzhen-based Proview Technology told the Associated Press that a Chinese court ruled that retailers should stop selling the iPad. Xie Xianghui, the Proview lawyer, told the AP that the Intermediate People's Court in the southern Chinese city of Huizhou made the ruling Friday. Apple officials were unavailable for comment Monday. "The ruling, which was also reported widely in China's state media, may not have a far-reaching effect," the AP said in its report.

Apple Inc.'s fight to use the iPad name in China has hit another snag after authorities seized dozens of the Apple tablet computers from store shelves in northern China. The seizures in Shijiazhuang, the capital of Hebei province, were in response to a trademark infringement complaint filed by Chinese company Proview Technology, according to its attorney. Proview Technology, which is based in the southern Chinese city of Shenzhen, said it holds the trademark for the hot-selling device in China.

An obscure Chinese company's battle with Apple Inc. over who has rights to the iPad name took another unlikely turn after authorities in northeastern China seized dozens of the Apple tablets for trademark infringement, an attorney for the company said. The seizures in Shijiazhuang, capital of Hebei province, were in response to a complaint filed by Proview Technology, a company based in the southern Chinese city of Shenzhen which has stymied Apple's bid to secure the trademark in China for its hot-selling device.

There's room for only one cupcake company called Sprinkles, and that's the one in Beverly Hills, a newly settled lawsuit seems to suggest. The popular chain, which first launched in Southern California in 2005, recently settled a trademark infringement lawsuit against a Fairfield, Conn., bakery that was calling itself Pink Sprinkles. That business, which opened in 2009, is now calling itself the Pink Cupcake Shack. Its website calls the shop “Fairfield's first cupcake boutique in Brick Walk Promenade” and touts the staff's decades of experience.

Nordictrack Sues Soloflex CEO for Defamation: CML Group Inc.'s maker of fitness products claims Jerry Wilson made several false and defaming references to Nordictrack in quotes published by Infomercial Marketing Report on Sept. 22. Nordictrack said the lawsuit is unrelated to others involving the firms over claims of unfair competition, false advertising, trade libel and trademark infringement.

Could pancake peace be at hand? The International House of Pancakes has dropped its trademark infringement lawsuit against a church, agreeing to resolve its dispute with the International House of Prayer out of court. On Dec. 21, the restaurant chain dismissed its case against the church, with its lawyers citing "ongoing mediation with the defendants," according to documents filed in federal court in Los Angeles. The restaurant chain sued the church in September, alleging it misappropriated IHOP trademarks with its website, ihop.

Hollywood studios, record labels and other U.S. copyright and trademark owners are pushing Congress to give them more protection against parasitical foreign websites that are profiting from counterfeit or bootlegged goods. The Senate Judiciary Committee has responded with a bill (S 968) that would force online advertising networks, credit card companies and search engines to cut off support for any site found by the courts to be "dedicated" to copyright or trademark infringement.

Could pancake peace be at hand? The International House of Pancakes has dropped its trademark infringement lawsuit against a church, agreeing to resolve its dispute with the International House of Prayer out of court. On Dec. 21, the restaurant chain dismissed its case against the church, with its lawyers citing "ongoing mediation with the defendants," according to documents filed in federal court in Los Angeles. The restaurant chain sued the church in September, alleging it misappropriated IHOP trademarks with its website, ihop.