News & Analysis as of

Generic Marks

Dorsey & Whitney LLP

Central District Finds SnapChat’s Spectacles Mark is Not Generic for Smart Glasses

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In Snap, Inc. v. Vidal, the Central District of California found the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (“TTAB”) was wrong in finding that SnapChat’s SPECTACLES mark is generic for smart glasses. The district court’s opinion...more

Weintraub Tobin

(Podcast) The Briefing: The Fall of SUPER HERO – When Trademarks Become Generic

Weintraub Tobin on

For more than half a century, Marvel Comics and DC Comics have jointly owned the trademark ‘Superhero.’ However, the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board recently granted a petition to cancel that mark because it became generic....more

Weintraub Tobin

The Briefing: The Fall of SUPER HERO – When Trademarks Become Generic

Weintraub Tobin on

For more than half a century, Marvel Comics and DC Comics have jointly owned the trademark ‘Superhero.’ However, the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board recently granted a petition to cancel that mark because it became generic....more

DarrowEverett LLP

Super Hero No More: How Marvel and DC Lost Their Trademark on a Genre

DarrowEverett LLP on

I distinctly remember purchasing the Superman/Spiderman team-up when it came out in 1981. It was an oversized comic book, with heavier than usual pages and a vibrant color scheme, and that made it perfect for laying it out on...more

Womble Bond Dickinson

It’s a Bird, It’s a Plane - It’s in the Public Domain! USPTO Cancels Marvel and DC Comics’ Trademarks for SUPER HERO and SUPER...

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The U.S. Patent and Trademark office has done what Thanos and Lex Luthor never could—defeat the larger than life combined forces of Marvel and DC. Despite being well-known rivals, DC (Batman, Superman, Wonder Woman and...more

Smart & Biggar

The OQLF’s new guidelines: practical resources for trademarks on products

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On June 26, 2024, the Regulation to amend mainly the Regulation respecting the language of commerce and business (the Regulation) was published in the Gazette officielle du Québec. Since then, the Office québécois de la...more

Vicente LLP

How to Choose a Trademark for Your Cannabis Brand

Vicente LLP on

Building a strong and distinctive brand identity for your business is crucial for driving sales, fostering consumer loyalty, and standing out in any industry, and more so for emerging and rapidly evolving sectors such as...more

Vinson & Elkins LLP

Trademarks as Assets: Selecting or Changing a Mark in the United States

Vinson & Elkins LLP on

As part of our series on trademarks as critical assets for businesses, this article discusses the importance of selecting and clearing a new or altered trademark for use and registration in the United States. Trademark...more

McDermott Will & Emery

It’s an Old Tune: Third-Party-Use Evidence From Long Ago Can Support Genericness

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The US Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit found that the district court abused its discretion in wholesale exclusion of evidence on the issue of genericness. The evidence was offered to show prior use of a trade dress...more

Cozen O'Connor

Québec Publishes Final Regulations Under Québec’s Charter of French Language, Broadening the Translation Exemptions for Trademarks...

Cozen O'Connor on

On June 26, 2024, the Province of Québec released the long-awaited final amendments to the Regulation respecting the language of commerce and business (Regulation), which amend multiple French-language requirements, including...more

Axinn, Veltrop & Harkrider LLP

Gambling with Alice? Look Out for These Abstract Idea Indicators

As further guidance on how to determine whether a patent claim is directed to an ineligible abstract idea under the Alice Two-Step Test, the Federal Circuit issued a precedential opinion, Beteiro v. DraftKings, No. 2022-2275...more

Erise IP

What’s Trending in Trademarks, April 2024: Chile/Chili Crunch, Jelly Roll, and Seltzer Sales

Erise IP on

Every month, Erise’s trademark attorneys review the latest developments at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, in the courts, and across the corporate world to bring you the stories that you should know about: David...more

AEON Law

Patent Poetry: Trademark Denied for “ChatGPT”

AEON Law on

The US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) has denied OpenAI’s applications to trademark “ChatGPT” and “GPT.” The Final Office Action states, “Registration is refused because the applied-for mark merely describes a...more

Linda Liu & Partners

Legal Analysis of Trademark Infringement Risk of Product Models

Linda Liu & Partners on

In recent years, the forms of trademark infringement have become more and more diverse. The Trademark Law, the Regulations for the Implementation of the Trademark Law and judicial interpretations have clearly stipulated that...more

Smart & Biggar

French-language requirements in Québec: Publication of the Draft Regulation to amend mainly the Regulation respecting the language...

Smart & Biggar on

On January 10, 2024, the Regulation to amend mainly the Regulation respecting the language of commerce and business (Draft Regulation) was published in the Gazette Officielle du Québec. The Draft Regulation was eagerly...more

Vondran Legal

Proper grounds to cancel another companies trademark

Vondran Legal on

In business, trademarks are everything. It's how consumers come to know, love and trust your brand. It's a valuable corporate asset, and many disputes can arise of name rights with the explosion of e-commerce and the...more

Smith Anderson

The Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals Enters the Cheese Wars: Determining Genericness for Trademark Registration

Smith Anderson on

Recently, the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit considered whether “gruyere” cheese can be registered as a trademark in the United States, or whether it is merely a generic term that is not entitled to...more

Fish & Richardson

TTAB Rules Consumer Perception Remains the Critical Inquiry for Generic.gTLD Marks

Fish & Richardson on

In June 2020, the U.S. Supreme Court rejected a rule that the combination of a generic term and a generic top-level domain (“gTLD”) is per se generic. See USPTO v. Booking.com B.V., 140 S. Ct. 2298 (2020) (“Booking.com”). In...more

Tarter Krinsky & Drogin LLP

Don’t Be Descriptive, Be Creative!

There once was a company named Zotz, Which created toys for tots, Let’s use “Robotoy,” Zotz declares, File at once, Lawyer Zares, Months later, Zotz is dejected, Too descriptive, trademark rejected. First published in...more

American Conference Institute (ACI)

[Event] 41st FDA Boot Camp - September 20th - 21st, Boston, MA

ACI’s FDA Boot Camp is back in Boston! This essential training course – now in its 41st iteration – continues to provide the working knowledge of core essentials of FDA law and regulation, including the new amendments under...more

Sterne, Kessler, Goldstein & Fox P.L.L.C.

MarkIt to Market® - July 2023: How to Lose a Mark in 3 Ways – Part 2: Genericide

One of the signs of a healthy trademark is a certain level of distinctiveness. Distinctiveness is related to consumers’ love and recognition of a mark as an indicator of a product’s source, such that consumers trust the mark...more

Sterne, Kessler, Goldstein & Fox P.L.L.C.

MarkIt to Market® - July 2023

Thank you for reading the July 2023 issue of Sterne Kessler's MarkIt to Market® newsletter. This month, we continue our three-part series that closely examines ways to lose trademark rights with a discussion of genericide. We...more

Sterne, Kessler, Goldstein & Fox P.L.L.C.

MarkIt to Market® - May 2023

Thank you for reading the May 2023 issue of Sterne Kessler's MarkIt to Market® newsletter. This month, we discuss Taco Bell's attempt to cancel two TACO TUESDAY trademark registrations, and a precedential TTAB decision...more

Sterne, Kessler, Goldstein & Fox P.L.L.C.

MarkIt to Market® - May 2023: TACO TUESDAY – Generic Term, Failure to Function, or BOTH

Taco Bell’s recent efforts to liberate the phrase “Taco Tuesday” presents an opportunity to review the distinctions between marks that are generic and those that fail to function as a trademark....more

Holland & Knight LLP

Not All Gruyere Comes From Gruyère: A Primer in Geographic Certification Marks

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In a decision characterized by the National Milk Producers Federation as a "momentous victory for American consumers, farmers and food manufacturers" and a "huge victory for worldwide producers" of gruyere cheese, the U.S....more

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