Merck v. Merck Multi-Billion Dollar Lanham Act Suit In NJ -- More Abbreviated Pre-Trial Briefing To Come In A Few Weeks...

At a truly-glacial pace. . . this sprawling, very high stakes naming lawsuit has been underway for over a decade, just in the federal courts in New Jersey -- but the general dispute about name rights, has been dotting the globe for two decades.

And the original schism came at the Treaty of Versailles in 1919. So there is some thick bark -- on this old tree. Here's the latest:

. . .TEXT ORDER:

Further to the Court's Order issued today, and for the reasons discussed on the record, as pertains to the discovery issue presented in Section 20 of the Revised Final Pretrial Order:

(1) Plaintiff shall set forth its position, including the specific discovery it seeks, in a letter memorandum to the Court (not to exceed ten double-spaced pages), by March 16, 2026;

(2) Defendant shall respond (not to exceed ten double-spaced pages) by April 9, 2026; and

(3) Plaintiff may reply (not to exceed three double-spaced pages) by April 16, 2026.

As regards discovery concerning replacement witnesses in Section 6D of the Revised Final Pretrial Order, no party seeks a custodial production, and the parties agree to limit such discovery to a deposition of the replacement witness. Upon resolution of the anticipated in limine motions, the parties will meet and confer to establish a deposition schedule for the replacement witnesses.

So Ordered by Magistrate Judge Michael A. Hammer on 2/19/2026. . . .

Now you know -- getting ever closer to a real federal Lanham Act trial date. End, power alley stuff for the day.

नमस्ते