Wednesday, April 28, 2021

Progress, But At A Turtle's Pace -- On The Settling Of Merck (US) v. Merck (Germany) Global Naming Rights/Lanham Act Litigation...


For well over 12 years, now -- we have covered the global fights over the name Merck. The dispute goes back to the Treaty of Versailles, now more than a century ago.

And it involves two very large multinational life sciences companies, in perhaps 140 countries all over the globe. So we should expect it will take a bit to sort out. But this is truly a snail's pace. Here is the latest update on settlement negotiations, from a joint letter filed in New Jersey's federal courthouse overnight.

. . .Following the parties’ March 5 status conference with the Court, the parties have continued to work in good faith to find a suitable global resolution for the complex issues in the parties’ disputes and pending worldwide litigations. In March and April, the parties have continued their business-to-business discussions and have exchanged several draft term sheets; the parties are scheduled to discuss their most recent drafts early next month. Although the parties have not yet reached an agreement on how to resolve the difficult issues on the parties’ use of their respective names in their respective territories, the parties continue to make progress on reaching such an agreement.

Given the progress that has been made and the complexity of the issues the parties have identified in their discussions, the parties agree that they would benefit from more time to continue discussions in the coming months. Accordingly, the parties jointly request that the Court extend the stay of proceedings in this matter until October 1, 2021. The parties will seek to put a similar stay in place in other jurisdictions where practicable. The parties also jointly request that the Court reschedule the May 12 status conference to a suitable date for the Court in September 2021, at which time the parties can provide the Court with an updated report on their progress. . . .


Now you know. . . onward, grinning. Ever. . . grinning.

नमस्ते

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