(Podcast) The Briefing: Thirsty for Clarity – Brand Confusion In The Beverage Category
The Briefing: Thirsty for Clarity – Brand Confusion In The Beverage Category
The Briefing: Affiliate Marketing vs Retail Services - TTAB's Landmark Ruling
AGG Talks: Cross-Border Business - How Foreign Companies Can Protect Their IP and Brand in the U.S.
(Podcast) The Briefing: It’s Not Yabba-Dabba-Delicious – TTAB Denies Color Mark for Post Fruity Pebbles!
The Briefing: It’s Not Yabba-Dabba-Delicious – TTAB Denies Color Mark for Post Fruity Pebbles!
(Podcast) The Briefing: SCOTUS to Determine if USPTO Refusal to Register TRUMP TOO SMALL is Unconstitutional
The Briefing: SCOTUS to Determine if USPTO Refusal to Register TRUMP TOO SMALL is Unconstitutional
PODCAST: Paralegal Insights: A Collaborative Trademark Practice, Series 4
The Briefing by the IP Law Blog – No Beating Around the Bush: TTAB Upholds Anti-Pot Policy
Podcast: The Briefing by the IP Law Blog – No Beating Around the Bush: TTAB Upholds Anti-Pot Policy
Podcast: The Briefing by the IP Law Blog - USPTO Suspends Action on Trademark Applications Targeting Names of Public Figures
The Briefing by the IP Law Blog: USPTO Suspends Action on Trademark Applications Targeting Names of Public Figures
PODCAST: Williams Mullen's Trending Now: An IP Podcast - Paralegal Insights: A Collaborative Trademark Practice
Podcast: The Briefing by the IP Law Blog - Could a Trademark Search Have Saved ‘The Cleveland Indians’ Botched Rebrand?
The Briefing by the IP Law Blog: Could a Trademark Search Have Saved ‘The Cleveland Indians’ Botched Rebrand?
PODCAST: Williams Mullen's Trending Now: An IP Podcast - Are there are any Trademarks Available? What Should You Do?
NGE On Demand: Trademark Updates Post Brexit with Andrea Fuelleman
The Briefing by the IP Law Blog: Navigating the Hazy Intersection of Cannabis Law & Trademarks
The Briefing: COVID 19 Bill Stimulates the Economy and Changes in the Intellectual Property Law
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
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
2023 was an active year in Canadian trademark law. Canadian Courts addressed a wide range of issues, from licensing to comparative advertising to co-branding. Notable changes also emerged from the Canadian Trademarks...more
After years of uncertainty, the USPTO has finally provided insight on how it views applications for cannabis-related marks, suggesting that the use of such marks will be heavily scrutinized. In 2016, National Concession...more
In January of this year, the China National Intellectual Property Administration (CNIPA) published its draft 5th Amendment to the Chinese Trademark Law (a translated version is posted...) The proposed amendments would...more
There is a little-known provision of the Lanham Act (the US Trademark Act) that packs a potentially big punch. 15 USC § 1051(e) provides that if a non-U.S. entity registers for a trademark in the United States without...more
American musician and rapper Lizzo recently scored a victory in the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (the “Board”), reversing the Trademark Office’s refusal to register the “100% THAT BITCH” mark for “clothing, namely,...more
On 13 January 2023, the China National Intellectual Property Administration (“CNIPA”) published draft amendments to the PRC Trademark Law for public comment. This Draft marks the fifth time that the PRC Trademark Law is up...more
A trademark is any word, phrase, symbol, design, or combination of these things that identifies a single source for certain products or services. Trademarks identify the source of certain products or services, provide legal...more
The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) has updated the deadline to respond to Office Actions for trademark applications. As of December 3, 2022, trademark applicants now have three months (instead of the...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
Graduates of The Ohio State University (“Ohio State”) are familiar with fans and supporters (and sometimes, Michigan fans) placing an emphasis on the “THE” when saying the school’s name. But the United States Patent and...more
Ending a hard-fought three-year campaign to secure registration of a popular handbag, the US Patent & Trademark Office (PTO) Trademark Trial & Appeal Board designated as precedential its decision refusing registration of the...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
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
The typical crack and fizz sound that occurs when opening a carbonated beverage is not registrable as a sound mark as it lacks any distinctive character. This was decided by the General Court of the European Union (GC) in a...more
On Monday, May 3, 2021, the Canadian Trademarks Office published two new Practice Notices with respect to Requests for expedited examination and Measures to improve timeliness in examination intended to improve delays in the...more
On December 27, 2020, President Trump signed the bipartisan COVID-19 relief and government funding bill which includes the Trademark Modernization Act of 2020 (TMA). The TMA, which will become effective in one year,...more
In this White Paper, we share observations on 2020's most significant developments in trademark law. This year, the U.S. Supreme Court penned three opinions concerning what constitutes a protectable trademark, available...more
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 2021.1 The...more
On December 1, 2020, the TTAB continued its recent trend of decisions refusing to register marks on the ground of failure-to-function. In another precedential decision, the TTAB refused Applicant Lee Greenwood’s (“Greenwood”)...more
For the first time in nearly three years, the USPTO will be adjusting its fees for Trademark Registrations and for filing fees related to proceedings involving the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (TTAB). Some fee increases...more
In a precedential decision earlier this year, the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board thinned some of the haze surrounding the registrability of trademarks for hemp-derived CBD products. In line with the U.S. Patent and...more
Pink insulation, green tractors, robins-egg blue jewelry boxes—they all have something in common: recognizable colors that many associate with products. But can such colors be registered as trademarks and, if so, when? On...more
As lawyers for start-up and emerging-growth companies, we see a range of disputes between founders and costly missteps that could have been avoided with proper planning and good advice. The ownership of intellectual property...more