Preclusion in Trademark Cases After High Court Lucky Ruling

Jennifer Lee Taylor and Eoin Connolly authored an article for Law360 covering the U.S. Supreme Court decision in Lucky Brand Dungarees Inc. v. Marcel Fashions Group Inc., which reversed the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit’s decision precluding Lucky from raising a release defense.

“What may have a [large] impact on future litigation…is the court’s statement that preclusion is particularly unsuited to trademark issues due to ever-changing market realities,” the authors wrote. “It would not be surprising to see this language cited with some frequency in the future. Parties who lose in opposition or cancellation proceedings before the board will likely point to this as a reason why claims or defenses should not be precluded in later infringement actions.”

Read the full article.