Client Successes

Trademark

In HighBeam Marketing, LLC v. Highbeam Research, LLC, opposition no. 91162372 before the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board is addressing whether Highbeam Research's HIGHBEAM mark for internet research is confusingly similar to HighBeam Marketing's HIGHBEAM mark for marketing services.  To support its position that the marks are confusingly similar, HighBeam hired an expert witness who conducted a likelihood-of-confusion survey.  When Highbeam Research sought to depose the expert, HighBeam Marketing asked Highbeam Research to agree to pay the expert's fee for the time spent in the deposition.  In support of that request, Highbeam Marketing cited a court decision in which a party had been ordered to pay part of an expert's fee for that time.

On behalf of Highbeam Research, we refused to make that concession.  Instead, we confirmed that the expert would not otherwise appear at her deposition and then asked the Board to preclude HighBeam Marketing from calling the expert at trial or offering her survey into evidence.  In a January 23, 2008 order, designated as precedential, the Board granted our motion.  For more details, contact us.