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Jewelry & Watches

A hallmark of Fross Zelnick’s practice has always been the development and protection of trademarks, copyrights, and design patents in jewelry, watches, and related retail services. Our long-term clients include household names in the design, manufacturing, and retail of jewelry and watches throughout both luxury and mass market segments, including TIFFANY and TIMEX. Whether we are enforcing rights in our client’s famous house marks in the U.S. or around the world, searching and clearing marks globally for new lines, or obtaining registrations for non-traditional marks, we remain our clients’ trusted partner through their decades of growth.

Beyond word marks, we put our collaborative experience to work in securing protection for clients’ jewelry and watch designs from first launch through iconic status, drawing on copyright, design patents, and trademarks to provide multi-layered and seamless protection as rights develop in one form of protection even as they expire under another.  We have broken ground in securing international protection for colors and distinctive packaging that consumers identify with our clients.  And we work closely with customs authorities in key commercial jurisdictions to stop the import and export of infringing goods before they reach the market.

Strengths that Matter to our Clients:

  • Deep knowledge of strategies available to secure intellectual property protection throughout the lifetime of jewelry and watch designs in the U.S. and around the world
  • Comprehensive global ability to secure, protect, and enforce both traditional and non-traditional trademark rights across multiple jurisdictions
  • Extensive experience in identifying the intricacies of jewelry and watch designs which can be protectable design features

Decisions

  • January 1, 2015

    109 F. Supp. 3d 1313 (C.D. Cal. 2015)

    On behalf of Hublot of America, LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton and related companies, the firm successfully obtained summary judgment dismissing Plaintiff Solid 21, Inc.’s trademark infringement case, which it brought based on Plaintiff’s ownership of a federal trademark registration for RED GOLD.More

  • July 31, 2007

    No. 05-35811, 2007 WL 2193541 (9th Cir. July 31, 2007); 384 F.3d 700 (9th Cir. 2004)

    The firm successfully concluded its representation of Timex Corporation in its defense against copyright and trademark infringement claims brought against it by Polar Bear Productions, Inc. In 2002,More

  • October 5, 2016

    Opp. No. 91209815 (T.T.A.B. Oct. 5, 2016)

    The Firm, on behalf of our client Cartier International A.G., prevailed in an opposition proceeding before the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board of the United States Patent and Trademark Office. Cartier had opposed an application to register the mark TRINITY in connection with leather handbags on the basis of likelihood of confusion with its own TRINITY mark for jewelry.More

  • April 10, 2003

    01 CV 0286(RLC), 2003 WL 1872656 (S.D.N.Y. Apr. 10, 2003)

    We won summary judgment on behalf of Movado in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York. Swatch alleged that its rights in its VENTURA mark, which it uses under its Hamilton line of watches,More

  • April 9, 2006

    440 F. Supp. 2d 249 (S.D.N.Y. 2006)

    The firm won a trial before the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York on behalf of plaintiffs De Beers LV Limited and De Beers LV Trademark Limited, owners of rights in the famous DE BEERS mark.More

Representative Experience

  • Clients include Tiffany, Timex, Movado, Cartier, David Yurman and others.
  • We have received numerous fame decisions on behalf of Tiffany, which help to protect the brand and its marks. We also do a fair amount of design work for them though we might want to say this without mentioning their names
  • Secured three-dimensional trademark registrations in the U.S. for iconic features of many jewelry and watch designs
  • Enforce iconic designs against sellers who make counterfeit or imitation products, such as bracelets, rings, or necklaces
  • Enforce design patents for watches against third-parties who are selling imitation or similar products
  • Address secondary market issues involving false claims of warranty and unauthorized use of product photos

Newsroom

  • September 8, 2018

    Cartier Int’l AG v. British Telecom Plc, [2018] UKSC 28.

    Three Richemont maisons, including Cartier, recently sued five of the largest internet service providers (ISPs) in the United Kingdom.  At issue was who is responsible for paying an ISP’s costs for implementing a blocking order issued by a court to protect Richemont’s trademarks. More

  • December 21, 2016

    Cartier International AG V. Coachman, Opp. No. 91209815 (T.T.A.B. Oct. 5, 2016)

    In Cartier International AG v. Coachman, Opp. No. 91209815 (T.T.A.B. Oct. 5, 2016), the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (the “Board”) recently sustained opposer Cartier International A.G.’s (“Cartier”) opposition to an application to register TRINITY for leather handbags filed by Lance Coachman. More

  • September 23, 2015

    In March 2015, China’s Trademark Review and Adjudication Board (“TRAB”) granted well-known status to Tiffany and Company’s (“Tiffany”) TIFFANY and TIFFANY & CO. trademarks. The recognition serves as a powerful tool, enabling Tiffany to prevent the dilution of its world-famous marks.

    As it expanded,More