News & Analysis as of

Trademark Application Trademark Registration Appeals

Linda Liu & Partners

A Preliminary Analysis of the Strategies That Can Be Adopted in Trademark Refusal Appeal Cases Where Trademarks Are Identical or...

Linda Liu & Partners on

China, which has enjoyed the reputation of being the “World’s Factory” and an “Important World Market” for many years, has also topped the global list in trademark applications for 20 consecutive years. Due to China National...more

McDermott Will & Emery

Sole Searching: Trade Dress Hopes Booted as Functional, Nondistinctive

McDermott Will & Emery on

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!”

Willcox & Savage on

In a non-precedential opinion; In re America in Harm’s Way; Serial No. 87976064, issued on November 30, 2023, the United States Patent and Trademark Office Trademark Trial and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

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

Stay in the Know: Informational Message Is Not a Source Identifier

Addressing whether the mark EVERYBODY VS. RACISM was registrable, the US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit affirmed the Trademark Trial & Appeal Board’s final refusal to register the mark because it failed to function...more

Dechert LLP

Drawing the Line: Insights on the limits of stylised descriptive trade marks in the UK

Dechert LLP on

The VIA Art Fund opposition and appeal decisions provide an important reminder for those seeking to enforce registered trade mark rights in the UK. While incorporating a figurative element to a descriptive mark can enhance...more

McDermott Will & Emery

Word From on High: Provide Reasoned Explanation When Departing From Established Practice

McDermott Will & Emery on

In a decision on motion in an appeal from the Trademark Trial & Appeal Board, the US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit admonished the Board on remand to “furnish a reasoned explanation” when departing from its...more

Ladas & Parry LLP

TTAB Confirms that Building Design Marks Lack of Distinctiveness

Ladas & Parry LLP on

In In re Palacio Del Rio Inc (Serial Nos 88412764 and 88437801), the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (TTAB) has issued an opinion affirming the refusal of two building design mark applications by Palacio Del Rio Inc (PDR) –...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

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

Hogan Lovells

EUIPO: Repeat trademark applications for the same classes can equate to bad faith

Hogan Lovells on

In July, the Second Board of Appeal of EUIPO declared the MONOPOLY trade mark invalid to the extent that the underlying application covered goods and services for which the trade mark was already registered. Such filings...more

Knobbe Martens

Where's the Beef? Establishing Fame in Trademark Disputes

Knobbe Martens on

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.

Knobbe Martens on

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

Dorsey & Whitney LLP

DuPont Factors of Likely Confusion – Long Term Co-Existence Without Confusion Deserves Consideration by TTAB

Dorsey & Whitney LLP on

Recently, the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit vacated and remanded to the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board a decision on an ex parte appeal regarding a likelihood of confusion between the applicant’s mark GUILD...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

Smart & Biggar

Year-end Round-up: Notable Trademark Case Law From 2018

Smart & Biggar on

There were many interesting trademark cases coming out of 2018, a few of which are discussed below. The scope of Canada’s anti-dilution remedy (section 22 of the Trademarks Act) is not limited to a defendant’s use of a...more

Dorsey & Whitney LLP

Registration of Color Trademarks on Product Packaging: The TTAB Lays Down Some Black and White Rules

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Obtaining trademark registration for color trademarks can be a complicated undertaking. In a recent precedential opinion, the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board in In re Forney Industries, Inc. weighed in on the registrability...more

Fenwick & West LLP

Is ‘Zero’ Generic or Descriptive? Coca-Cola Loses Battle on Appeal to Federal Circuit

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If you have ever had a Coke Zero, what do you understand ZERO to mean – “zero calories,” “zero sugar,” “zero carbohydrates” or some combination of each? If your friend who never had a Coke Zero asked you what the difference...more

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