Lisa Blatt To Argue First-Ever United States Supreme Court Case Via Teleconference

April 2020

On May 4, 2020, partner Lisa Blatt will present oral argument to the Supreme Court in the first case in the history of the Court to be argued remotely, and the first case where live audio will be available to the public, United States Patent & Trademark Office v. Booking.com. The case will mark Lisa Blatt’s 40th argument before the Supreme Court. The question presented is whether the addition by an online business of a generic top-level domain (".com") to an otherwise generic term can create a protectable trademark. Partner Sarah Harris was lead brief-writer and is second-chairing this case; other members of the Williams & Connolly Supreme Court and Appellate Litigation team who have helped with the case include Eden Schiffmann, Thomas Chapman, and John Swanson.

United States Patent & Trademark Office v. Booking.com will be Lisa Blatt’s third argument before the Supreme Court this term. Last week, the Supreme Court ruled in favor of two of the firm’s clients in Romag Fasteners, Inc. v. Fossil, Inc. and Atlantic Richfield Co. v. Christian.

Audio of United States Patent & Trademark Office v. Booking.com will be available to the public and can be accessed via C-SPAN.

Read coverage by The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, Bloomberg, and Law360The Washington Post featured Lisa's preparation to argue the case via teleconference.
 
Click here to review the United States Supreme Court Telephonic Arguments schedule.

 

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