The Supreme Court held in Romag Fasteners Inc.v., v. Fossil Inc. that plaintiffs need not prove willfulness in order to obtain an award of profits in trademark cases. But what do you need to prove? Are there profits standards and do they differ from damages?

This webinar will discuss recent initiatives by the U.S. Copyright Office in the administration of copyright law for the public benefit.

Led Zeppelin’s attorney, Peter Anderson, will discuss the travails of the band’s litigation involving the iconic Stairway to Heaven song. This program will cover the background leading to the complaint in 2014 accusing the band of copying Stairway to Heaven’s introduction from an obscure instrumental recording by the group Spirit; through discovery and the jury verdict of non-infringement; to a reversal by a three-judge panel of the Ninth Circuit; and, ultimately, to the recent en banc decision reversing that reversal.

The program will examine the concept of genericness and its place in the “spectrum of marks.” It will then look at the USSC decision in Booking.com as well as the dissent. Finally, the program will look at the potential practical consequences of the Court’s holding on genericness, trademark registration, and trademark enforcement. The program will also include a discussion of the use of survey evidence in genericness cases.

The webinar will provide a discussion of the impact of the Supreme Court’s TC Heartland decision on patent litigation filings as well as venue determination and challenges.

Long time co-authors Ted Davis of Kirkpatrick Townsend & Stockton LLP and John Welch of Wolf, Greenfield & Sacks, P.C. will present their highly regarded annual summary and analysis of the past year’s most important trademark case decisions from the U.S. courts and the USPTO.