The road to the Supreme Court

 

 

Machat’s trademark experience began with a trademark dispute involving The New Edition who were minors at the time and signed to an egregiously bad contract.  The question became who owned the trademark New Edition – the kids or the producer. Similar issues came up later again with the band, The Platters. Machat represented the Five Platters Inc. in numerous cases involving the ownership to the rights of the band name, The Platters, before several courts mostly within the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals.       

 

As KP Permanent Make-Up, Inc. v. Lasting Impression I, Inc.,  543 U.S. 111 (2004)     Machat’s drinks business grew, Machat represented various entities within the drinks industry, including his own and he acquired various Vampire related trademarks, including Vampire and Dracula. Machat also acquired the domain vampire.com in the process.  Around this time period, Machat also began representing clients in clothing, gaming, and make-up.   Machat took one of his client’s cases all the way to the United States Supreme Court, where he successfully argued for the Fair Use Defense in Trademark law.  

 

View Transcripts and Listen to Recording of the Case 

 

Trial experience

 

As one can see, besides filing and advising clients on trademarks and related business opportunities, this firm also takes cases to trial.  Most online Trademark services do not have lawyers that step into a courtroom. We’ve conducted more than two dozen jury trials. Some of these have been criminal matters where we represented defendants facing significant prison time.  The rest have been civil matters with a good deal of money at stake. If we have to, we’ll take a case to all the way to the US Supreme Court -- as we’ve done.