trademark Archives - The Insurance & Reinsurance Report

July 30, 2015 Emerging Issues

Blurred Lines Between Trademark and Trade Dress: Fifth Circuit Rules on “Web-Dress” Infringement

In Test Masters Educational Services, Inc. v. State Farm Lloyds, No. 14-20473, 2015 U.S. App. LEXIS 11148 (5th Cir. June 29, 2015), the Fifth Circuit affirmed a district court’s ruling that the amended counterclaim in the underlying lawsuit did not trigger a duty to defend on the basis of trade dress infringement.

The underlying dispute arose from the ongoing legal saga between Test Masters Educational Services, Inc. (TES) and Robin Singh Educational Services, Inc. Both entities provided test preparation services under the name “Testmasters.” …

June 18, 2013 Policy Conditions, Considerations, Construction, and Formation

Nothing Comes Between Me and My Calvins…Except an Uncovered Trademark Infringement Lawsuit

CGS Indus., Inc. v. Charter Oak Fire Ins. Co.
|(2^nd Cir. (N.Y.) June 11, 2013
The Second Circuit recently held that the phrase “infringement of title” in a liability policy does not encompass trademark infringement. Thus, the court found that a liability insurer was not obligated to indemnify its insured (not Calvin Klein) against a claim for allegedly copying the claimant’s rear-pocket stitching design in its jeans. The decision is noteworthy because it puts to rest policyholders’ argument, at least in New York, that …