LEASON ELLIS SUCCESSFULLY REPRESENTS PARTY CITY IN TRADEMARK SUMMARY JUDGMENT MOTION

Representing plaintiffs Party City and Amscan Inc. in a patent and trademark infringement suit surrounding the manufacture, distribution and sale of sunglasses, we invalidated the rights of defendants in the mark SHUTTER SHADES in the course of procuring an order directing the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office to cancel the registration for that mark.  The Hon. Cathy Seibel granted our clients’ summary judgment motion in its entirety, finding as a matter of law that (i) plaintiffs did not infringe defendants’ purported trademark rights in the mark SHUTTER SHADES, and (ii) defendants’ trademark rights had in fact been abandoned due to its pattern of naked licensing.  The Court simultaneously denied defendants’ cross-motion for summary judgment on their counterclaim of trademark infringement.