The Ninth Circuit’s recent decision in Moldex-Metric, Inc. v. McKeon Products, Inc. clarifies that even when a single color trade dress has a function, and even when the color is marketed as such, this fact alone does not...more
When Tim Berners-Lee developed the World Wide Web in 1990 as a tool to share information among specialized researchers, he likely did not anticipate the degree to which his invention would radically change — in just a few...more
The March issue of Sterne Kessler's MarkIt to MarketTM newsletter provides 5 considerations for prioritizing your global trademark protection, identifies takeaways from a recent trade dress decision, and provides an updated...more
Many U.S. brand owners already work with U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), a division of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, to keep counterfeit products out of the U.S. CBP examines cargo at more than 300 ports...more
Many commentators have weighed-in on the Supreme Court's recent Hana Financial decision, which involved two competing HANA-formative marks for financial services, including one that had been modified over the years to couple...more
The February issue of Sterne Kessler's MarkIt to MarketTM newsletter provides takeaways from the Supreme Court's Hana Financial decision, identifies a new anti-counterfeiting tool for owners of Canadian trademarks and...more
A trademark is an intangible asset of the company that, like most assets, should be audited periodically. Ideally, a trademark audit examines and evaluates the strengths, weaknesses, and relative value of a company's...more
In our 140-character world, slogans and rallying cries have become a popular shorthand to signify support for the emotion of the moment. As such slogans capture our national attention, it is virtually inevitable that the next...more
The January issue of Sterne Kessler's MarkIt to MarketTM newsletter comments on the trend of seeking to register popular slogans as trademarks, supplies a template for auditing your trademark rights, and gives an updated list...more
For several years now, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) has been concerned about the amount of "deadwood" on the U.S. trademark Register – registrations that remain in force, but cover marks that are not actually...more
Effective January 17, 2015, the USPTO has announced a number of fee reductions for 2015, including a $50 reduction in the cost to file electronic applications ...more
As first reported in our December 2013 newsletter, the first new generic top-level domains (gTLDs, the group of letters after the "dot" in a domain name) have launched their "Sunrise" registration periods. Please see our...more
When used effectively, brand and merchandise licensing can increase the value of a brand by extending it into new, relevant product categories and by further monetizing brand equity. And when seeking to protect a brand in...more
Just in time for the holiday shopping season, the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board's recent decision in Anthropologie, Inc. and Urban Outfitters Wholesale, Inc. v. Happy Green Company LLC is a good reminder of why, when...more
As first reported in our December 2013 newsletter, the first new generic top-level domains (gTLDs, the group of letters after the "dot" in a domain name) have launched their "Sunrise" registration periods. Please see our...more
The November issue of Sterne Kessler's MarkIt to MarketTM newsletter includes a case study on bona fide intent to use, a resolution to Anthropologie's opposition to the mark, and an updated list of the Sunrise periods...more
We brand geeks at MarkIt to Market occasionally like to explore the history of interesting trademarks. A recent visit to Germany inspired a look into the history of the Störtebeker beer brand, which derives its name from one...more
As first reported in our December 2013 newsletter, the first new generic top-level domains (gTLDs, the group of letters after the "dot" in a domain name) have launched their "Sunrise" registration periods. Please see our...more
As first reported in our December 2013 newsletter, the first new generic top-level domains (gTLDs, the group of letters after the "dot" in a domain name) have launched their "Sunrise" registration periods. Please see our...more
Whether it’s black or white may not have mattered to Michael Jackson (at least that's how the song goes), but it does seem to matter now to the Office for Harmonization in the Internal Market (OHIM) and other trademark...more
ICANN’s new Generic Top-Level Domain (gTLD) program has been in full swing for over a year now, so it seems an apt time to examine some statistics as to how brands are engaging with new gTLDs, utilizing the Trademark...more
If your company was an early registrant in the Trademark Clearinghouse, it is likely your registrations had an effective date of November 5, 2014, the date the Clearinghouse went “live.” If so, the deadline to renew one-year...more
The September issue of Sterne Kessler's MarkIt to MarketTM newsletter contains an explanation of new guidelines on the treatment of color logos in the European Community, a reminder of the upcoming renewal deadline for the...more
The Intellectual Property Owners’ Association (IPO) recently released its 2014 IP Record, an annual report detailing global intellectual property trends. Now in its seventh year, the report draws from a range of sources,...more
Continuing our primate theme for this month's newsletter, we thought this would be as good a time as any to remind our readers as to the important distinction between copyrighted artistic works, and use of elements from those...more