Litigation
Trademark Litigation
“The Gibson Dunn team is super strategic, but also very practical and really understands our business.” – Chambers USA
Overview
Gibson Dunn’s team of trademark litigators has successfully handled scores of trademark, trade dress, and unfair competition cases in courts around the country.
Our group has decades of experience handling high-profile trademark matters with extraordinary results. Our experience spans a wide range of industries, including media and entertainment, consumer products, food and beverage, software, and technology. Our lawyers are frequently called upon to provide strategic advice on how best to protect, maintain, and enhance valuable intellectual property assets on a worldwide basis.
We regularly handle brand-related disputes of all types, including trademark, trade dress, and service mark infringement, dilution, false advertising, misrepresentation, and misappropriation claims, as well as other matters involving internet commerce, advertising, mobile applications and social media. Whether our clients seek or defend against efforts for preliminary injunctive relief, seek to protect their marks or trade dress from infringers, or are facing claims from a competitor trying to unfairly gain market advantage, we have the team to successfully resolve the dispute.
As a result of our success and client-focused approach, the group, as well as many trademark litigators individually, are regularly recognized as industry leaders in top legal publications, including Law360, World Trademark Review, and The Daily Journal. Recent recognitions include “Intellectual Property Group of the Year” by Law360, two partners named among the World’s Leading Trademark Professionals in the 2024 edition of the WTR 1000, partners named as Star in the Managing IP Handbook, and numerous other regional and nationwide recognitions that use phrases like “mastery of trial work is one of the defining features” to describe our group and lawyers.
Experience
Recent representations include:
- American Airlines: Represented American Airlines in a cutting-edge Lanham Act dispute with Google concerning the use of American’s trademarks in Google’s search advertising programs. After intense discovery battles, Gibson Dunn successfully argued to the Court that Google should be sanctioned and required to provide direct access to its extensive electronic databases to find evidence of consumer confusion. The case was settled pursuant to a confidential settlement agreement.
- General Mills: Won dismissal with prejudice of a putative class action challenging marketing and labeling of cereal and yogurt products, including consumer protection and advertising claims under California law.
- Nestlé Healthcare Nutrition: Won dismissal with prejudice for Nestlé of false advertising claims regarding its Boost Glucose Control nutritional drinks.
- Keurig Dr Pepper: Gibson Dunn successfully defended beverage company A SHOC Energy and its distributor Keurig Dr Pepper against a false advertising and trade dress lawsuit that sought to ban the fledgling product from the marketplace.
- University of Southern California (USC): Secured a Federal Circuit victory for USC affirming a decision by the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board to refuse registration of the “SC” trademark to the University of South Carolina.
- CytoSport: Obtained a complete victory for CytoSport in complex trademark and false advertising litigation. After CytoSport obtained a preliminary injunction enjoining sales of a competitive product on trademark and trade dress grounds, Gibson Dunn secured dismissal of the defendant’s counterclaims seeking to invalidate CytoSport’s “Muscle Milk” trademark. We later obtained a consent order converting the preliminary injunction into a permanent injunction that required the competitor to withdraw pending trademark applications and administrative challenges to “Muscle Milk” trademark.
- Gucci America: Secured a verdict for Gucci that credit card processing companies may be held liable for contributory trademark infringement.
- Tiffany: Secured a victory against multiple defendants on claims of trademark infringement and counterfeiting.
- Nike and Converse: Won $3.4 billion judgment for Nike Inc. and Converse Inc. in anti-counterfeiting action.
- Leading Luxury Fashion Brands: Successfully represented Gucci America, Inc., Balenciaga America Inc., Bottega Veneta, Inc. and Yves Saint Laurent America, Inc. in a trademark infringement and counterfeiting action and obtained an ex parte prejudgment asset freeze and, later, a default judgment.