5 Key Takeaways | Petitions for Expungement or Reexamination of the Trademark Modernization Act
The Clean Slate Act’s Impact on Employers
Expungements: A Helping Hand for a Second Chance and New Opportunities
As a trademark applicant, encountering a prior registration that obstructs your path to registration is never a pleasant experience (nor for your attorneys who have to inform you about it). The frustration only intensifies...more
Thank you for reading the April 2023 issue of Sterne Kessler's MarkIt to Market® newsletter. This month, we discuss practice tips for the two new petition processes instituted by the Trademark Modernization Act and highlight...more
We are committed to providing insightful commentary on IP developments from around the world to our Japanese clients. In light of that effort, we are continuing our free monthly webinar series, McDermott IP Focus. During...more
The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (“USPTO”) has received more than 170 petitions for expungement and reexamination since it began accepting these new filings late last year. And although the Office has issued guidance...more
Background on Trademark Rights - While it is not required to establish trademark rights in the U.S., there are many benefits to applying to register trademarks with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office ("USPTO"). For...more
Kilpatrick Townsend’s Ted Davis and Rita Weeks recently presented on the topic of “Combating Misrepresentations in Trademark Prosecution and Maintenance: The Trademark Modernization Act and Beyond.” The Trademark...more
The Trademark Modernization Act (“TMA”) was signed into law on December 27, 2020. Among other things, the TMA created new procedures for challenging pending applications and registrations and updated several rules relating to...more
As 2021 drew to a close, the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) introduced two new procedures pursuant to the Trademark Modernization Act of 2020 (the “Act”), providing new, streamlined avenues to seek...more
On December 18, 2021, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) rules implementing the Trademark Modernization Act of 2020 (TMA) went into effect. The first major overhaul of the Lanham Act since 1998, the TMA introduced...more
I. Introduction - On December 27, 2020, the Trademark Modernization Act of 2020 (“TMA”) became law after it passed Congress and was signed by the President as part of the year-end Consolidated Appropriations Act for 2021....more
On December 7, 2020, Congress enacted the Trademark Modernization Act of 2020 (the “TMA”). The United States Patent & Trademark Office (the “USPTO”) recently promulgated rules implementing the TMA, which, in large part, took...more
This year kicked off with new tools to help brand owners protect and enforce their marks. The use of a trademark in commerce is an important aspect of U.S. trademark law; however, an increasing number of trademark...more
Earlier this month, certain regulations implementing the Trademark Modernization Act (TMA) went into effect. Per the final rule, the new tools are primarily to clear the “deadwood” – that is, unused registered trademarks –...more
The December 2021 issue of Sterne Kessler's MarkIt to Market® newsletter discusses new enforcement tools courtesy of the Trademark Modernization Act; Pfizer's acquisition of Arena Pharmaceuticals; the latest developments in...more
The Trademark Modernization Act of 2020 (the “TMA”) was buried in the enormous COVID relief and stimulus bill (i.e., the Consolidated Appropriations Act for 2021), signed into law on December 27, 2020. The TMA amends federal...more
As has been the case in recent years, trademark filings in 2020 again increased over the previous year. While at first glance this may seem to indicate that the U.S. economy continues to grow and innovate, at least some of...more