The latest case of trademark infringement involving a cannabis company provides a great illustration of a trademark concept that can be difficult to convey to clients, which is the concept of “likelihood of confusion” where two marks are not identical, or even all that close to identical. According to news reports, “Menthol cigarette brand Kool
Earlier this month, Circle K Stores Inc., owner and operator of the chain of Circle K convenience stores, filed a Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (“TTAB”) Notice of Opposition against Medical Marijuana, Inc., a California company with a pending U.S. federal trademark application for the following design mark (the “MM ‘K’ Mark”): The MM “K”
A couple of months ago, my colleague Vince Sliwoski wrote Oregon Cannabis Dispensary Sales: What We Are Seeing on Valuation, which focused on the secondary market for cannabis licenses and businesses. Vince explained that the retail market, i.e. the purchase and sale of dispensaries, is still mostly done on multiples of revenue. But what is
Earlier this fall, several news outlets reported on a lawsuit alleging that federal and state law enforcement agencies in California wrongfully destroyed a hemp grow worth more than $3 million. (See here, and here). The case, Agro Dynamics, LLC v. DEA, et al., was filed in the federal district court for the Southern District of
On December 22, the Food and Drug Administration (the “FDA”) issued new warning letters to five companies that illegally sold and marketed unapproved CBD products, which the companies claimed could prevent, diagnose, mitigate, treat or cure various medical conditions. This latest round of enforcement actions was triggered by specific concerns with the manner in which
On December 3, 2020, MAPS (the Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies) issued a press release regarding a lawsuit filed against the DEA and the Attorney General to “compel issuance of licenses to manufacture marijuana for clinical trials and potential FDA approval.” We have written about MAPS and its 35 years of advocacy and engagement with
On November 17, 2020, the Fresno County Superior Court dismissed a lawsuit filed by 24 California cities seeking to invalidate state cannabis regulations that allow delivery of cannabis to customers in jurisdictions that have banned retail commercial cannabis activity. Many industry players and media are touting the dismissal as a “win” for California cannabis companies.
This summer, I wrote about a Title III lawsuit that was filed against cannabis company NC3 Systems dba Caliva. As a quick refresher, Title III of the Americans with Disabilities Act (“ADA”) requires all businesses to remove any obstacle that interferes with a disabled person’s ability to access their products or services online. The plaintiff
RICO claims in the cannabis industry have certainly evolved over the years, but the general trend of the Courts dismissing those claims or cases altogether has held fast. In Shulman, et al. v. Kaplan, et al., a case filed in the Central District of California, the plaintiffs – who are involved in the production, marketing, and
Confessed or stipulated judgments are fairly common in the pre-litigation and litigation contexts, and disputes in the cannabis industry are no different. They are slightly different concepts so here’s an overview of both, why they might be the best-case scenario for you, and how to make sure they’re effective (provided a court is willing to
