JONES DAY TALKS®: 75 Years of the Lanham Act and Changes in U.S. Trademark Law
PODCAST: Williams Mullen's Trending Now: An IP Podcast - How to Preserve Your Intellectual Property Rights with Marking—Part 1: Trademarks and Copyrights
The Trademark Trial & Appeal Board issued a precedential decision affirming a refusal to register a mark because there was no direct association between the specimen and the applied-for services. In re Gail Weiss, Serial No....more
Trademark lawyers are often asked: “What’s the difference between a trademark and a service mark?” In general, a trademark refers to a brand name used in connection with goods, while a service mark is one that is used in...more
Trademarks — which can include words, phrases, symbols, designs, or a combination of these things — play a crucial role in establishing and protecting a brand’s identity: they help ensure that consumers can reliably identify...more
In the realm of professional associations, establishing a strong and recognizable brand is crucial. Trademarks and service marks are essential tools that not only protect your association's brand but also enhance its...more
In a non-precedential opinion; In re America in Harm’s Way; Serial No. 87976064, issued on November 30, 2023, the United States Patent and Trademark Office Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (“TTAB”), decided the issue of...more
We would like to bring to your attention that there are new “address for service” rules coming into effect on 1 January 2024 at the UK Intellectual Property Office (UKIPO) which may have an impact on your trade mark...more
A trademark can be any word, name, symbol, or device (such as a logo, picture, slogan, color, shape, sound, etc.), including combinations of these elements. The key function of a trademark is to identify and distinguish the...more
This blog post explains the general requirements for specimens for trademark and service mark applications. There are numerous exceptions to these general specimen rules depending upon the type of the mark, the respective...more
My previous blog post, “What are the Types of Trademarks,” explained the distinction between Trademarks, Service Marks, State Marks, Federal Marks, and Common Law Marks, which are common types of protection for marks in the...more
On December 10, 2021, the TTAB issued a precedential decision reminding trademark practitioners and applicants that service mark use requires that an applicant actually render the services recited in the trademark...more
Addressing whether a service mark owner had established a protectable interest in his marks through actual or analogous use, the US Court of Appeals for the 10th Circuit reversed in part the district court’s grant of summary...more
On June 15, 2020, the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) announced a new program to provide prioritized examination for certain trademark and service mark applications that cover qualifying COVID-19...more
There is a popular vintage Harley Davidson t-shirt that says “Tough Guys Finish First.” That may be true. But, sometimes, to finish first, one does not need more tough guys; one needs more lawyers, as a crime-related matter...more
A recent decision by the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board in Tidal Music AS v. The Rose Digital Entertainment LLC (Opp. No. 91232127) confirms the importance of ensuring proper use of a service mark before filing an...more
When seeking particular services, consumers are often drawn into a business based on branding and advertising found near the location – whether by signage on or around the establishment, or by glimpses of the services being...more
1. The Difference Between a Trademark, Service Mark, and Trade Dress. A trademark is any word, term, phase, symbol, logo, design, shape, tag line, background, color, scent, sound, device, or combination thereof that...more
When you create a social media profile on a platform such as Twitter, and engage with other Twitter users, are you creating your own online community? This question was at the heart of the TTAB's recent precedential decision...more
Brand owners seeking federal protection for their service marks from the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office ("USPTO") often struggle with how to define their services in the application. While the Trademark Act defines...more