No. 25-753

Zioness Movement, Inc. v. The Lawfare Project, Inc.

Lower Court: Second Circuit
Docketed: 2025-12-29
Status: Pending
Type: Paid
Tags: consumer-confusion intellectual-property lanham-act legal-standing source-identification trademark-ownership
Latest Conference: 2026-03-06
Question Presented (from Petition)

1. Whether, under the Lanham Act, a court or jury may find joint ownership of a trademark between competing entities—neither of which pleaded or proved co-ownership—without violating the fundamental principle that a trademark must indicate a single source of goods or services to consumers.

2. Whether a party that does not object to a verdict sheet that includes "both" as a potential response to the question of ownership has waived the legal argument that joint ownership of a trademark by two entities that compete in the same market, without any guardrails to protect against consumer confusion, violates the Lanham Act.

3. Whether the district court was required to instruct the jury to consider which entity used the trademark in a source-identifying way, and whether the district court erred by instructing the jury to consider the scope of Amanda Berman's employment but failing to instruct the jury that a purported transfer of trademark rights via a naked or oral license effects an abandonment.

Question Presented (AI Summary)

Whether a court may find joint ownership of a trademark between competing entities without violating the Lanham Act's requirement of a single source of goods or services

Docket Entries

2026-02-18
DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 3/6/2026.
2026-02-17
Reply of Zioness Movement, Inc. submitted.
2026-02-17
Reply of petitioner Zioness Movement, Inc. filed. (Distributed)
2026-02-04
Brief of The Lawfare Project, Inc. in opposition submitted.
2026-02-04
Brief of respondent The Lawfare Project, Inc. in opposition filed.
2026-01-27
Motion to extend the time to file a response is granted and the time is extended to and including February 4, 2026.
2026-01-26
Motion of The Lawfare Project, Inc. for an extension of time submitted.
2026-01-26
Motion to extend the time to file a response from January 28, 2026 to February 4, 2026, submitted to The Clerk.
2025-12-22
Petition for a writ of certiorari filed. (Response due January 28, 2026)

Attorneys

The Lawfare Project, Inc.
Terrence A. OvedOved & Oved LLP, Respondent
Zioness Movement, Inc.
Kristie Marie BlaseFelicello Law P.C., Petitioner