News & Analysis as of

Trademark Application Appeals United States Patent and Trademark Office

McDermott Will & Emery

Sole Searching: Trade Dress Hopes Booted as Functional, Nondistinctive

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The US Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit affirmed a district court’s summary judgment grant in a trademark dispute, finding that the district court did not err in concluding that a subset of design elements lacked...more

McDermott Will & Emery

ITU Applicants Beware: Federal Courts Have Jurisdiction Over Pending Trademark Applications

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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

Willcox & Savage

A Proposed Mark Must Have A Source Identifying Function: Trademark Denied For “Keep America Great!”

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In a non-precedential opinion; In re America in Harm’s Way; Serial No. 87976064, issued on November 30, 2023, the United States Patent and Trademark Office Trademark Trial and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

McDermott Will & Emery

No Home Away From Home: Federal Circuit Confirms PTO Domicile Requirements

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The US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit confirmed the US Patent & Trademark Office’s (PTO) refusal to register a trademark based on the applicant’s failure to comply with the domicile address requirement of 37 C.F.R....more

Sterne, Kessler, Goldstein & Fox P.L.L.C.

Federal Circuit IP Appeals: Summaries of Key 2023 Decisions (8th Edition)

2023 saw a return to business as usual for the Federal Circuit. Oral arguments are once again in-person and open to the public, and the Court has resumed its former practice of holding occasional sittings outside of...more

McDermott Will & Emery

Hairy Situation: Trademark Act Doesn’t Provide Consumer Standing

The US Patent & Trademark Office Trademark Trial & Appeal Board found that a consumer did not have standing to oppose an application for registration because the consumer failed to establish a commercial interest and injury...more

Ladas & Parry LLP

Fourth Circuit Confirms That ‘Gruyere’ is Generic for Cheese

Ladas & Parry LLP on

The appellants, Interprofession du Gruyère and Syndicat Interprofessionnel du Gruyère, are two consortiums, Swiss and French, that regulate use of the term ‘gruyere’ to refer only to cheeses produced in the Gruyère district...more

Bradley Arant Boult Cummings LLP

How Lizzo Helped the USPTO Identify the Source of “100% THAT B---H”

Recently, Melissa Jefferson, known professionally as Lizzo, took on the USPTO in a battle to establish trademark rights to a popular lyric from her 2017, Billboard-topping song Truth Hurts. The phrase, “100% That B—h”, which...more

Sterne, Kessler, Goldstein & Fox P.L.L.C.

MarkIt to Market® - February 2023: 2(c) or Not 2(c)?

Late last week, the USPTO issued Examination Guide 1-23 which establishes guidelines for USPTO Examining Attorney compliance with Section 2(c) of the Lanham Act. The Guide provides a framework for examining certain types of...more

Sterne, Kessler, Goldstein & Fox P.L.L.C.

MarkIt to Market® - February 2023

Thank you for reading the February 2023 issue of Sterne Kessler's MarkIt to Market® newsletter. This month, we discuss Section 2(c) of the Lanham Act in relation to the Supreme Court's pending review of the TRUMP TOO SMALL...more

McDermott Will & Emery

Oh, Fudge. TTAB Finds Curse Word Fails to Function as Trademark

The US Patent & Trademark Office (PTO) denied registration of several US trademark applications for the mark FUCK, even though the applicant had overcome a prohibition on the registration of “immoral or scandalous” trademarks...more

Fitch, Even, Tabin & Flannery LLP

Federal Circuit Affirms Refusal to Register Generic Top-Level Domain Trademarks

On February 2, in In re: Vox Populi Registry Ltd., the Federal Circuit affirmed the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board’s (TTAB) refusal to register a standard character mark and a stylized mark, both related to the “.sucks”...more

Jones Day

JONES DAY TALKS®: Women in IP: 2020 in Review and a Look Toward 2021

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Jones Day's Meredith Wilkes and Anna Raimer discuss 2020's most significant developments in trademark law and preview what's to come in 2021, including possible progress in Washington on the highly anticipated Trademark...more

Akerman LLP - Marks, Works & Secrets

The Joint is Just a Music Joint, Not a Trademark

The Federal Circuit in In re JC Hospitality LLC recently affirmed the United States Patent and Trademark Office, Trademark Trial and Appeal Board’s refusal to register the service mark THE JOINT for a venue offering...more

Fenwick & West LLP

Booking Generic Domains

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The U.S. Supreme Court will soon determine whether combining a generic term with a generic top-level domain (gTLD) such as .com can ever be a protectable trademark. Regardless of how the Court rules in U.S. Patent & Trademark...more

Jones Day

U.S. Supreme Court: "All the Expenses" Does Not Include Attorney’s Fees - In Peter v. Nantkwest, Inc., the Supreme Court...

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The U.S. Supreme Court's recent 9-0 decision in Peter v. NantKwest, Inc., Case No. 18-801, informs strategic cost considerations in appeals challenging adverse decisions issued by the United States Patent and Trademark Office...more

Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP

Supreme Court Issues Unanimous Ruling Denying PTO Attorneys’ Fees for Section 145 Actions

On December 11, 2019, in Peter v. NantKwest, Inc., 589 U.S. __ (2019), the U.S. Supreme Court issued a unanimous decision holding that the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (PTO) cannot recover the salaries of its legal...more

Dorsey & Whitney LLP

Booking.com Heads to the High Court

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Last Friday, the U.S. Supreme Court granted the USPTO’s writ of certiorari to review traveling website company Booking.com’s trademark application for “booking.com”. The TMCA previously covered developments in this case here....more

Knobbe Martens

Where's the Beef? Establishing Fame in Trademark Disputes

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A decision from the Federal Circuit clarified how the USPTO should analyze evidence of fame under the fifth DuPont factor. The decision sheds light on how fashion brands can establish that their marks are famous through...more

Knobbe Martens

IN RE: SINY CORP.

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Before Prost, Lourie and Stoll. Appeal from the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board. Summary: In evaluating whether a webpage printout is an acceptable specimen of use for a trademark in connection with goods, the USPTO may...more

UB Greensfelder LLP

Walmart Burned by the Jury in Trademark Infringement Suit

UB Greensfelder LLP on

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

Dorsey & Whitney LLP

Fully Booked: The Fourth Circuit Confirms Booking.com is Protectable But Company Must Pay the USPTO’s Fees on Appeal

Dorsey & Whitney LLP on

Dorsey’s TMCA team has thoroughly covered the history of the dispute between the USPTO and Booking.com B.V., which started when the Trademark Trial and Appeals Board rejected the BOOKING.COM trademark as generic (covered...more

Fenwick & West LLP

Intellectual Property Bulletin - Fall 2018

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In This Issue - Gender Diversity in Patenting: Current Landscape and Recommendations - The gender gap in patenting is a current challenge that companies face. While this issue seems pervasive, companies and lawyers can...more

Foster Garvey PC

The Washington Redskins Win Their Trademark Battle in Overtime

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Simon Tam of the Asian rock band, The Slants, probably was not envisioning an 8-year-long legal battle when he chose the group’s name. Slant is known as a racial slur for Asians. Tam hoped to strip the term of its derogatory...more

Jones Day

Win or Lose: Appellants of PTO Decisions in District Court Must Pay Attorneys' Fees

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On June 23, 2017, the Federal Circuit held in NantKwest v. Matal that patent applicants seeking review of a decision from the United States Patent and Trademark Office ("PTO") to the district court must pay the PTO's legal...more

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