As Amazon, eBay and other Internet marketplaces continue to dominate the retail industry, manufacturers and distributors face increasing numbers of on-line counterfeit and gray market resellers. These resellers list products at lower price points cutting into...
Unauthorized online resellers are a growing brand protection problem for a manufacturers, particularly as consumers continue to do more and more of their shopping on sites like Amazon and eBay. Unauthorized resellers purchase products in bulk from third-party sellers...
By: Alex Jones In Part 1 of this series, we looked at the importance of registering and protecting your trademarks as a means of warding off unauthorized resellers of your products. While trademark infringement claims are an important tool in fighting unauthorized...
On August 31, 2017, a United States District Court Judge in Texas, Judge Amos L. Mazzant III, struck down a portion of the Obama administration’s so-called overtime rule, which it introduced in May 2016. The new rule would have increased the minimum salary level for...
The scenario is a familiar one – you’re a manufacturer and seller of goods and come to discover unauthorized retailers selling your products at lower prices on websites like Amazon and eBay. These unauthorized resellers undercut your sales, anger your true authorized...
Much has been happening at the Department of Labor (“DOL”). The DOL under the Trump administration got off to a slow start, but it is now signaling that changes will be forthcoming. In a June 27, 2017 press release, the DOL announced it would restart the practice of...
By Alex E. Jones Under the Lanham Act, the United States Patent and Trademark Office (“USPTO”) has traditionally denied trademark applications for trademarks which “may disparage… persons… institutions, beliefs, or national symbols….” (U.S.C. § 1052). This is commonly...
By Alex E. Jones In May 2017, Secretary of Labor, Alexander Acosta, published an op-ed in the Wall Street Journal announcing that the Department of Labor (“DOL”) planned to rescind certain Obama-era regulations. Specifically, the current administration intends to...
Hackers made international headlines last month after executing a global ransomware attack by exploiting a flaw in Microsoft’s Windows operating system. The malware, “WannaCry,” encrypted users’ files and forced users to pay ransom to un-encrypt them. The cyberattack...
By Alex E. Jones In April, the Sixth Circuit ruled that employers can be held liable for Family and Medical Leave Act (“FMLA”) retaliation claims based on the “cat’s paw” theory. The Sixth Circuit has previously applied the cat’s paw theory to other discrimination...