JLM Couture, Inc. v. Gutman

Court: US Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit

Docket: 21-2535

Opinion Date: January 17, 2024

Areas of Law: Contracts, Intellectual Property, Labor & Employment Law

In the dispute between fashion designer and social media influencer Hayley Paige Gutman and her former employer, JLM Couture, Inc., the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit considered the preliminary injunction and contempt order issued by the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York. The lower court had awarded JLM control of two social media accounts previously managed by Gutman and enforced a five-year restrictive covenant that prohibited Gutman from identifying herself as a designer of certain goods. The court also held Gutman in civil contempt for posts on Instagram that it deemed as marketing, violating an earlier version of the preliminary injunction.

The Court of Appeals dismissed Gutman's appeal from the contempt order due to lack of appellate jurisdiction. It affirmed the district court's refusal to dissolve the preliminary injunction based on the law of the case. However, the Court of Appeals vacated the district court’s order that modified its preliminary injunction. The court found fault in the lower court's determination of the ownership of the disputed social media accounts and its failure to evaluate the reasonableness of the five-year noncompete restraint on Gutman. The case was remanded for further proceedings consistent with the opinion of the Court of Appeals.

Campfield v. Safelite Group, Inc.

Court: US Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit

Docket: 22-3204

Opinion Date: January 16, 2024

Areas of Law: Antitrust & Trade Regulation, Business Law, Civil Procedure, Intellectual Property

In a dispute between Ultra Bond, Inc., and its owner, Richard Campfield (collectively "Ultra Bond"), and Safelite Group, Inc. and its affiliates (collectively "Safelite"), both parties operate in the vehicle glass repair and replacement industry. Ultra Bond alleges that Safelite violated the Lanham Act by falsely advertising that windshield cracks longer than six inches could not be safely repaired and instead required replacement of the entire windshield. Safelite counterclaims that Ultra Bond stole trade secrets from Safelite in violation of state and federal law.

The United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit ruled that the district court was incorrect to grant summary judgment to Safelite on Ultra Bond’s Lanham Act claim. The court held that there was sufficient evidence to suggest that Safelite's allegedly false statements may have caused economic injury to Ultra Bond, and this issue should go to a jury.

The court also affirmed the district court's decision that Safelite's claims for conversion, civil conspiracy, and tortious interference with contract were preempted by the Ohio Uniform Trade Secrets Act (OUTSA). However, the court reversed the district court's grant of summary judgment to Ultra Bond on Safelite’s claim under OUTSA, ruling that Safelite's claim was not time-barred and should be evaluated further in the lower court.

Finally, the court affirmed the district court's grant of summary judgment to Ultra Bond on Safelite's unfair competition claim, finding that Safelite hadn't provided enough evidence to support its claim that Ultra Bond's statements were false or that they had led to a diversion of customers from Safelite to Ultra Bond. The case was remanded for further proceedings.

Punchbowl, Inc. v. AJ Press, LLC

Court: US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit

Docket: 21-55881

Opinion Date: January 12, 2024

Areas of Law: Civil Procedure, Intellectual Property, Trademark

In a trademark dispute between two companies that used the word "Punchbowl" in their marks, the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit reversed the district court's summary judgement in favor of AJ Press, LLC. The court held that AJ Press, LLC's use of the Punchbowl mark was not outside the scope of the Lanham Act under the "Rogers test". The Rogers test, which governs disputes over trademarks that are used in expressive works protected by the First Amendment, does not apply when the accused infringer uses a trademark to designate the source of its own goods. The court found that AJ Press, LLC was using the Punchbowl mark to identify and distinguish its news products. The court reversed the district court's judgement and remanded for further proceedings, instructing the district court to proceed to a likelihood-of-confusion analysis under the Lanham Act.

CYWEE GROUP LTD. v. ZTE (USA), INC.

Court: US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit

Docket: 21-1855

Opinion Date: January 18, 2024

Areas of Law: Intellectual Property, Patents

In this case, CyWee Group Ltd. appealed a decision made by the U.S. Patent Trial and Appeal Board (the "Board") that found unpatentable claims 1, 4–5, 14–17, and 19 of U.S. Patent No. 8,441,438, which is directed to a three-dimensional (3D) pointing device. The appeal also involved CyWee’s revised motion to amend its claims. The main arguments of CyWee's appeal were that the Board erred by allowing LG Electronics Inc., an intervenor in the case, to oppose CyWee’s motion to amend and that the Board erred in denying the revised motion to amend.

The United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit affirmed the Board's decision. The court found no error in the Board’s decision to allow LG to oppose the revised motion to amend, despite LG joining the case as a passive 'understudy'. The court also found substantial evidence to support the Board's conclusion that a skilled artisan would combine the prior art references in the case. The court rejected CyWee's argument that it was denied meaningful Director review, in line with precedent set in previous cases.