The Maryland Healthy Working Families Act

After many years of trying to get legislation for paid sick leave off the ground, the Maryland General Assembly finally enacted the Maryland Healthy Working Families Act on January 12, 2018, overriding Governor Hogan’s veto. Generally, under the law, employers with 15...

Ad Fraud—Beware!

The digital age has created a new issue for advertisers to tackle when implementing a marketing strategy—combating ad fraud. What is ad fraud? Ad fraud can occur in a number of ways, but the basic idea is that advertisers are tricked into paying for online...

Money Damages in Trademark Cases

In the matter of Tiffany & Co. (“Tiffany”) v. Costco Wholesale Corporation (“Costco”), Tiffany won a whopping award of over $19.4 million for trademark infringement, trademark counterfeiting, and unfair competition. Costco had been selling solitaire diamond rings...

Who Owns the Trademark─Manufacturer or Distributor?

Generally, when two different entities both claim to own an unregistered trademark, courts will employ what is known as the “first-use” test to determine ownership. The first-use test is based on the common property maxim: “first in time, first in right,” and awards...