The Briefing by the IP Law Blog: Let Russ Cook: An NFL-Sized Introduction to ITU Applications
Protecting Your Brand in China
The US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit affirmed in part a district court’s ruling in a trademark dispute, upholding its decision to invalidate trademark applications. The Ninth Circuit held that district courts have...more
Future Intentions Not Enough to Pave the Road to Registration - “Reduces pain,” “alleviates anxiety,” “improves sleep” – these are just some of the claims of the miraculous CBD. The surfeit of new CBD brands and products...more
The September 2021 issue of Sterne Kessler's MarkIt to Market® newsletter discusses a recent non-precedential Trademark Trial and Appeal Board decision regarding intent-to-use applications covering CBD products currently...more
If you recently filed a trademark application with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, you may have noticed that the average time to first action (initial examination) is about six months from the application’s filing date...more
The August 2021 issue of Sterne Kessler's MarkIt to Market® newsletter discusses Monster Energy's history of trademark disputes in the context of enhancing brand strength, tips for shortening the pendency of trademark filings...more
Owning a federal trademark registration provides the ability to exclude others from using a certain word or design in association with specific goods or services. In the United States this exclusivity of rights, however, can...more
In this episode of The Briefing by the IP Law Blog, Josh Escovedo and Scott Hervey discuss NFL athlete Russell Wilson and ITU applications....more
Beyoncé, named by Forbes as the Most Powerful Woman in Entertainment, has built a business empire that stretches into entertainment, fashion, major product endorsements, as well as music production and streaming distribution....more
Veronica Morales, a wedding/event planner providing services under the trademark BLUE IVY, has unsuccessfully challenged a pending application for the mark BLUE IVY CARTER, filed by BGK Trademark Holdings, LLC (Beyoncé...more
After decades of mounting pressure from Native American groups, fans, activists and even corporate sponsors, the NFL’s Washington Redskins recently announced that it would be changing its team name and logo after 87 years of...more
On May 9, 2019, Kim Kardashian West and Kanye West’s fourth child, Psalm West, was born. On May 18, 2019, Kim Kardashian West’s company, fittingly named Kimsaprincess Inc., filed sixteen trademark applications for PSALM...more
The United States Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (TTAB) recently refused registration to two trademark applications for cannabis and marijuana vaporizers, finding no bona fide intent to lawfully use the marks in commerce...more
Trademarks protect distinctive marks, such as brand names, logos, and designs. This protection allows a trademark holder to exclude others from using the mark without permission of the owner. The following includes important,...more
Filing for a trademark in China? Kilpatrick Townsend associate Gwen Kui discusses first-to-file rules, bad faith, and how to protect your brand....more
If you’re a fan of branding and sports, you may have wondered who will affix their name to the Raiders’ new stadium in Las Vegas. The construction is underway, but the team has yet to announce whose name the stadium will...more
For any baseball fans already preparing to capitalize when their favorite team wins their next World Series game, you may strike out before getting up to bat at the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (“TTAB”) in the United...more
Earlier this month, a federal jury in North Carolina hit Walmart with a $95.5 million verdict for its willful infringement of Variety Stores, Inc.’s “BACKYARD” trademarks. The jury awarded $45.5 million as a reasonable...more
On May 31, 2017, President Trump tweeted a half-formed message with a mystifying final word: “Despite the constant negative press covfefe”. The Twitterverse and other social media platforms went wild with re-tweets, memes and...more
The general rule of thumb for trademarks in the U.S. – and everywhere else, for that matter – is “the earlier, the better.” It’s almost always the right move to file a trademark application as early as possible, and well in...more
The San Diego Padres recently took control of the Amarillo minor league baseball organization. The organization will serve at the Padres’ Double A affiliate. In the spirit of new beginnings, the organization recently held a...more
In January 2015, Pitney Bowes filed an intent-to-use trademark application for the logo shown here for use with mailing services, including postal delivery, parcel delivery, and delivery of mail to post offices for posting...more
“Intent to use” (“ITU”) trademark applications must be successfully amended to allege use in U.S. Commerce before proceeding to registration. The applicant has six months from the issuance of a Notice of Allowance (“NOA”) or...more
A Massachusetts federal court recently found multiple early uses of a sought-after trademark insufficient to confer priority of rights. The dispute concerned two technology companies, Nexsan and EMC, each seeking to use the...more
Trademark owners applying for “intent to use” applications risk loss of trademark rights if the identification of goods services in the intent to use application is broader than the actual intended use of the mark. Brand...more
The Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals recently issued an important decision about the bona fide intent requirement when filing an intent to use (“ITU”) application and the consequences when there is a lack of bona fide intent as...more