Join Sterne Kessler’s Global Trademark & Brand Protection team for our mid-year review webinar, when we will take a closer look at the latest developments in trademark law. From recent court decisions to industry-trends, our...more
7/16/2024
/ Acquired Distinctiveness ,
Artificial Intelligence ,
Continuing Legal Education ,
False Association ,
First Amendment ,
Functionality ,
Intellectual Property Protection ,
Lanham Act ,
Right of Publicity ,
Trademark Infringement ,
Trademark Litigation ,
Trademark Registration ,
Trademark Trial and Appeal Board ,
Trademarks ,
Webinars
In 2021, the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board cancelled Great Concepts, LLC’s trademark registration for the mark DANTANNA’S for restaurant services under Section 14, after finding that counsel for the Registrant committed...more
11/1/2023
/ Appeals ,
Declaration of Use ,
Fraud ,
Incontestability Clauses ,
Intellectual Property Protection ,
Lanham Act ,
Trademark Cancellation ,
Trademark Litigation ,
Trademark Ownership ,
Trademark Registration ,
Trademark Trial and Appeal Board ,
Trademarks ,
USPTO
Thank you for reading the October 2023 issue of Sterne Kessler's MarkIt to Market® newsletter. This month, we discuss the Federal Circuit’s recent case considering the scope of the USPTO’s authority to cancel registrations...more
11/1/2023
/ Advertising ,
Brand ,
Corporate Branding ,
Declaration of Use ,
E-Signatures ,
Enforcement ,
Fraud ,
Incontestability Clauses ,
Intellectual Property Protection ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Signatures ,
Trademark Application ,
Trademark Cancellation ,
Trademark Litigation ,
Trademark Ownership ,
Trademark Registration ,
Trademark Trial and Appeal Board ,
Trademarks ,
USPTO
Trademarks help brand owners build and communicate their brand’s reputation and value with the relevant public. Once that valuable goodwill is linked between a mark and the owner’s products and services, trademark owners can...more
9/1/2023
/ Abandonment ,
Brand ,
Intellectual Property Litigation ,
Intellectual Property Protection ,
Lanham Act ,
License Agreements ,
Third-Party ,
Trademark Application ,
Trademark Infringement ,
Trademark Licenses ,
Trademark Litigation ,
Trademark Ownership ,
Trademark Registration ,
Trademark Trial and Appeal Board ,
Trademarks ,
USPTO
Thank you for reading the August 2023 issue of Sterne Kessler's MarkIt to Market® newsletter. This month, we conclude our series that explores ways to lose trademark rights with an examination of naked licensing, discuss a...more
9/1/2023
/ Abandonment ,
Change of Ownership ,
China ,
CNIPA ,
Domicile ,
Foreign Trademark ,
Intellectual Property Litigation ,
Intellectual Property Protection ,
International Trademark Protection ,
Lanham Act ,
License Agreements ,
New Guidance ,
New Rules ,
Policies and Procedures ,
Proposed Amendments ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Third-Party ,
Trademark Application ,
Trademark Examination ,
Trademark Infringement ,
Trademark Licenses ,
Trademark Litigation ,
Trademark Ownership ,
Trademark Registration ,
Trademark Suspensions ,
Trademark Trial and Appeal Board ,
Trademarks ,
USPTO ,
WIPO
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
8/1/2023
/ Acquired Distinctiveness ,
Brand ,
Corporate Branding ,
Generic Marks ,
Genericide ,
Goods or Services ,
Intellectual Property Litigation ,
Intellectual Property Protection ,
Trademark Litigation ,
Trademark Ownership ,
Trademark Registration ,
Trademark Trial and Appeal Board ,
Trademarks ,
USPTO
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
8/1/2023
/ Acquired Distinctiveness ,
Advertising ,
Brand ,
Consumer Protection Laws ,
Corporate Branding ,
Counterfeiting ,
Data Collection ,
Disclosure ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Generic Marks ,
Genericide ,
Goods or Services ,
Intellectual Property Litigation ,
Intellectual Property Protection ,
Lanham Act ,
Listing Rules ,
Marketing ,
Online Marketplace ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Sellers ,
Third-Party ,
Trademark Litigation ,
Trademark Ownership ,
Trademark Registration ,
Trademark Trial and Appeal Board ,
Trademarks ,
Unfair or Deceptive Trade Practices ,
USPTO
Join Sterne Kessler attorneys for our inaugural Trademark Year in Review webinar, where speakers will offer summaries and analysis of particularly noteworthy cases from 2022, along with updates on the latest in U.S. trademark...more
In a recent precedential TTAB case, Chutter, Inc. v. Great Management Group, LLC and Chutter, Inc. v. Great Concepts, LLC, 21 USPQ2d 1001 (TTAB 2021), the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board found that reckless disregard for the...more
The October 2021 issue of Sterne Kessler's MarkIt to Market® newsletter discusses a precedential TTAB decision regarding fraud; the DEA's proposal to increase production quotas for several schedule I controlled substances,...more
10/26/2021
/ Cannabis Products ,
Clinical Trials ,
Controlled Substances ,
DEA ,
Domain Name Registration ,
Domain Names ,
False Statements ,
Fraud ,
gTLD ,
ICANN ,
Intellectual Property Protection ,
Quotas ,
Reckless Disregard ,
Research and Development ,
Schedule I Drugs ,
Sunrise Periods ,
Trademark Cancellation ,
Trademark Litigation ,
Trademark Registration ,
Trademark Trial and Appeal Board ,
Trademarks ,
USPTO ,
Websites
In a recent non-precedential opinion, the TTAB affirmed a refusal to register Melissa & Doug, LLC’s red oval background mark (the “Proposed Mark”), finding that the acquired distinctiveness factors weighed against a finding...more
[co-author: Joseph Diorio, Law Clerk]
The January 2021 issue of Sterne Kessler's MarkIt to Market® newsletter discusses: a recent non-precedential TTAB decision on background designs; the Trademark Modernization Act;...more
1/29/2021
/ Acquired Distinctiveness ,
Cannabidiol (CBD) oil ,
Color Marks ,
Domain Names ,
gTLD ,
ICANN ,
Lanham Act ,
Sunrise Periods ,
Trademark Application ,
Trademark Modernization Act (TMA) ,
Trademark Registration ,
Trademark Trial and Appeal Board ,
Trademarks ,
USPTO ,
Utility Patents
Effective January 2, 2021, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (PTO) will be adjusting – or introducing – a number of Trademark and Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (TTAB) fees. This increase has been a long time coming: the...more
[co-author: Joseph Diorio, Law Clerk]
The November 2020 issue of Sterne Kessler's MarkIt to Market® newsletter discusses a rare failure-to-function refusal reversal at the TTAB, Google's efforts to combat counterfeit goods,...more
12/2/2020
/ Counterfeiting ,
Domain Names ,
Filing Fees ,
Google ,
gTLD ,
Online Marketplace ,
Reversal ,
Sunrise Periods ,
Trademark Application ,
Trademark Infringement ,
Trademark Registration ,
Trademark Trial and Appeal Board ,
Trademarks ,
USPTO
In a precedential decision earlier this month, the TTAB found that a disclaimer of a term is required as to all services in a Class if it is descriptive as to any services in that Class. This decision appears to contravene...more
The May 2020 issue of Sterne Kessler's MarkIt to Market® newsletter discusses two recent precedential TTAB decisions – one regarding disclaimer scope and the other exploring how to successfully claim trademark rights in the...more
In a recent precedential decision, the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board affirmed that the mark SEQUENCING BY BINDING is merely descriptive of goods and services in Classes 1, 9, 10, and 42 related to biological analytes...more
1/6/2020
/ Admissible Evidence ,
Biologics ,
Descriptive Trademarks ,
Examination Procedures ,
Goods or Services ,
Intellectual Property Protection ,
Patent Filings ,
Patents ,
Precedential Opinion ,
Trade Dress ,
Trademark Application ,
Trademark Trial and Appeal Board ,
Trademarks ,
Utility Patents
The December 2019 issue of Sterne Kessler's MarkIt to Market® newsletter discusses Pantone's color of 2020, a recent precedential decision about descriptive word marks in patent applications, and the new gTLD sunrise period....more
When it comes to proving use of marks in commerce, perception by consumers is everything. If consumers perceive a mark as identifying only a particular component or feature of the goods in a specimen, the PTO will likely...more
In a recent precedential decision, the U.S. Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (“Board”) confirmed that a hashtag symbol (#) generally adds little or no source-indicating distinctiveness to a trademark. In this case, rapper...more
9/5/2018
/ Acquired Distinctiveness ,
Domain Names ,
gTLD ,
Hashtags ,
Music Industry ,
Precedential Opinion ,
Trademark Examination ,
Trademark Manual of Examining Procedure (TMEP) ,
Trademark Registration ,
Trademark Trial and Appeal Board ,
Trademarks
The August 2018 issue of Sterne Kessler's MarkIt to Market® newsletter discusses requirements for registering a scent mark, the U.S. Trademark Trial and Appeal Board's confirmation on whether hashtags add distinctiveness to a...more
Consent agreements - in which a prior U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) rights-holder provides consent to registration of a later-filed trademark - can be an efficient path to registration in situations where the...more
In a recent precedential decision, the TTAB clarified whether a party filing an Opposition is entitled to allege a family of marks as a basis for a Section 2(d) claim when those marks are not all owned by a single legal...more
The October 2016 issue of Sterne Kessler's MarkIt to Market® newsletter provides an update on the Redskins trademark case, discusses a recent TTAB ruling regarding ownership of families of marks, and announces the new gTLD...more
11/2/2016
/ Appeals ,
Disparagement ,
Domain Names ,
Federal Trademark Register ,
gTLD ,
Lanham Act ,
Petition for Writ of Certiorari ,
Redskins ,
Sunrise Periods ,
Trademark Infringement ,
Trademark Ownership ,
Trademark Registration ,
Trademark Trial and Appeal Board ,
Trademarks
In a recent TTAB case, the Board considered whether a stylization of a descriptive term supports registration on the Principal Register. The short answer? It depends....more