December.13.2022
Backed by an Orrick IP litigation team, CoorsTek Bioceramics won an important case before the United States Patent and Trademark Office’s Trademark Trial and Appeal Board, which last week ruled in its favor cancelling CeramTec GmbH’s trademarks in the color pink. This is the latest ruling rejecting CeramTec’s claimed trademark rights thereby affirming CoorsTek’s right to market its pink ceramic hip replacement components in the U.S.
CoorsTek (formerly C5 MedicalWerks) initiated U.S. proceedings in 2014 in response to an attempt by CeramTec to enforce its claimed trademark and trade dress in the color pink for its ceramic hip implant components. In the latest order, the TTAB found the color pink covered by the CeramTec trademark registrations to be functional, and therefore unregistrable.
This is the third major win our IP team has been instrumental in securing for CoorsTek in this important and long-running trade dress dispute. In 2017, we prevailed in trade dress litigation against CeramTec, serving as lead counsel in an 11-day bench trial in federal court in Colorado. And last year, the Paris Court of Appeals upheld the cancellations of three EU trademarks and the dismissal of CeramTec’s trademark infringement and parasitic competition claims against CoorsTek. Orrick worked closely with Hughes Hubbard in the litigation before the Paris courts.
Partner Diana Rutowski led the Orrick team in the TTAB, with support from former partner Peter Vogl, associate Lindsay Rindskopf, former associate Briggs Wright, and paralegal James Cangialosi, with additional contributions from Chris Cariello and Chris Ottenweller.