Finally the long wait for purchasing iPads is over in the U.S., but it seems Apple’s legal nightmares regarding iPad’s trademark infringement is just beginning.  After purchasing the trademark for iPad from Fujitsu, EMG Technology said today it would move to add Apple’s iPad tablet to a patent infringement suit filed by EMG against Apple in 2008. EMG originally sued Apple in November 2008 in Texas claiming that Apple’s iPhone infringes on a patent held by EMG. According to EMG, Apple refused to pay reasonable royalties for its use of EMG’s patents relating to navigating internet mobile websites and applications, which were filed in 1999, years before Apple’s mobile patents were filed. This case is set to go on trial on September 12, 2011.

Also, the Taiwanese chip and touch screen maker Elan Microelectronics Corp. asked the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC)to ban the import and sale of Apple products, including iPad, on the grounds that they allegedly infringe patents held by Elan.  The ITC has not ruled on the complaint yet.

The iPad became available in the U.S. on April 3.

In one of the most closely watched trademark cases, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit ruled Thursday that eBay does not infringe on Tiffany’s trademarks even though the online auction site features plenty of counterfeit goods billed as being legitimately produced by the luxury jeweler.  The 45-page opinion notes that eBay does not deny its knowledge that Tiffany products sold on eBay were often counterfeit.  However; the court agreed with the lower court’s 2008 decision that sale of some counterfeit Tiffany goods on eBay does not constitute trademark infringements by eBay.  The court ruled that eBay takes the appropriate steps to combat sales of counterfeit and in order for Tiffany to win a false advertising claim, Tiffany will have to produce evidence that consumers were confused by the advertisements.

This recent case is major development in an international debate over how much eBay and other consumer resale cites should be required to do in order to police counterfeit sales.  The results of these trademark litigations have been mixed for eBay outside the U.S.  A French court ruled in 2008 that eBay had not done enough to stop counterfeit sales and ordered eBay to pay $63 million fine. Another French court six weeks ago ordered eBay to pay $275,000 to Louis Vuitton, however;  In Belgium, the court reached an opposite conclusion in favor of eBay.

Giant Internet search engine company, Google, won a key European Union court ruling on trademark issues Tuesday.  The European Court of Justices said Google did not violate luxury goods trademarks by allowing companies to buy other companies’ brand names as advertising key words. Google makes tens of billions of dollars a year by selling the right to display advertisement next to search results. Luxury goods makers like Luis Vuitton, with their trademark logo, complained that competitors were buying the right use LV brand names as key words. That could guide customers to buy goods at web sites run by LV’s competitors, including counterfeiters. Applying European trademark law, the court said, Google must remove the advertisements quickly if trademark holders show the ads are used for illegal trademark activity, like selling counterfeit goods.

When entering trademark and copyright litigation, the selection of appropriate counsel is vital to protecting your interests.  The Law Offices of Sepehr Daghighian provides aggressive legal representation to clients  in federal and state courts related to trademarks and patent infringements. We are able to excel where other law firms fail because we work quickly to identify the strengths and weaknesses of  client’s cases. While larger law firms move slowly, our approach in trademark registration is unique in that we use speed to our advantage. While our opposition is only beginning to start understanding the nuances of the matter at hand, we strive to consistently remain many steps ahead in analysis of the complex legal issues that are customarily raised in trademark litigation.   The Law Offices of Sepehr Daghighian has successfully litigated against international companies that are represented by some largest law firms in the nation.  we use our “smallness” to our advantage by remaining better prepared and moving quicker in litigation that our opposition.