News & Analysis as of

Trademark Registration Inherently Distinctive

Ladas & Parry LLP

TTAB favours Airbnb in opposition against competitor TREEBNB mark

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In Airbnb Inc v Seth Bolt and Victoria Bolt, the Trademark Trial and Appeals Board (TTAB) ruled in favour of opposer Airbnb Inc., against applicants Seth and Victoria Bolt. The board’s decision was influenced by, among other...more

A&O Shearman

HALLOUMI collective mark fails to prevent trade mark registration for GRILLOUMI

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The High Court has recently upheld the UKIPO’s decision that GRILLOUMI and GRILLOUMAKI can be registered as trade marks, despite opposition from the owners of the collective mark HALLOUMI. This decision highlights the...more

Erise IP

What’s Trending in Trademarks, February 2024: Fruity Pebbles Denied Color Mark, Captain Cannabis Cancellation, Trader Joe’s vs....

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Every month, Erise’s trademark attorneys review the latest developments at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, in the courts, and across the corporate world to bring you the stories that you should know about: Fruity...more

AEON Law

Patent Poetry: Trademark Denied for “ChatGPT”

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The US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) has denied OpenAI’s applications to trademark “ChatGPT” and “GPT.” The Final Office Action states, “Registration is refused because the applied-for mark merely describes a...more

Linda Liu & Partners

Can “Coined Trademarks” Rest Easy? A Brief Analysis of the Inherent Registrability of English Coined Trademarks from a Perspective...

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In recent years, global economic and cultural exchanges have become more and more frequent, and both overseas multinational companies and Chinese trends enterprises have invariably chosen alphabetic trademarks, using in...more

Kohrman Jackson & Krantz LLP

The Ohio State University Wins the War

By now, news has broken about The Ohio State University and its official registration of a trademark for the word “THE”. This comes after a nearly three-year battle to clinch legal branding access to a word that’s deeply...more

Knobbe Martens

What’s in a Name?: Third Party Use of a Descriptive Term Without Secondary Meaning Can Undermine Assertions of Substantially...

Knobbe Martens on

GALPERTI, INC. v. GALPERTI S.R.L. Before: Moore, Prost, Taranto. Appeal from the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board. Summary:  Evidence of use of a term even without a showing of secondary meaning, by any third party,...more

Hogan Lovells

Put a cork in it: EU General Court says sound file of "opening a carbonated beverage" not registrable as a sound mark

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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

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

MarkIt to Market® - April 2020: Color Marks for Product Packaging CAN Be Inherently Distinctive - What This Means for Your Brand...

Earlier this month, the Federal Circuit issued a precedential ruling on the question of whether a color mark for product packaging can ever be inherently distinctive, holding that the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (TTAB)...more

Knobbe Martens

Registration of a Multi-Color Mark Does Not Require Acquired Distinctiveness

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In Re FORNEY INDUSTRIES, INC. Before Dyk, O’Malley, and Chen. Appeal from the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board. Summary: Multi-colored marks may be inherently distinctive when used on product packaging....more

Dorsey & Whitney LLP

Are Color Trademarks on Product Packaging Inherently Distinctive?

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On April 8, 2020, the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit issued a decision on an appeal from the refusal of registration of a color trademark by the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board. In this case, the applicant, Forney...more

Ballard Spahr LLP

What’s "Kicking" at the ITC – the All Star Sneaker Battle

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One of the biggest trademark cases in 2018 addressed the issue of secondary meaning in product design—specifically, Converse’s rights in its signature Chuck Taylor® All Star® shoe. In Converse v. ITC, the Federal Circuit...more

Smart & Biggar

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

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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

TiVo Proves More than 15 Minutes of Fame to Succeed on Trademark Dilution Claim

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Andy Warhol once famously commented that “In the future everybody will be world famous for fifteen minutes.” For trademarks, fifteen minutes of fame is not sufficient to assert a trademark dilution claim. ...more

Hogan Lovells

Has the General Court let the genie out of the bottle with its latest judgment on shape marks?

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The General Court has recently decided an interesting case concerning the distinctiveness of a shape mark ....more

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

MarkIt to Market® - September 2018: When the Other Shoe Drops – Keep Calm and (Trade) Dress Up

Design patents are often the go-to option for protecting the visual features, or design, of a product. But design patent protection is not always available, such as after the product has been on sale, offered for sale, or...more

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

MarkIt to Market® - August 2018

The August 2018 issue of Sterne Kessler's MarkIt to Market® newsletter discusses requirements for registering a scent mark, the U.S. Trademark Trial and Appeal Board's confirmation on whether hashtags add distinctiveness to a...more

Hogan Lovells

U.S. – Reframing the Test for Genericness in the Soft Drink Wars

Hogan Lovells on

Royal Crown Co., Inc. v. The Coca-Cola Co., 2018 WL 3040163 (Fed. Cir. June 20, 2018) - In late June, the Federal Circuit issued  an opinion in the year-long litigation between Royal Crown Co., Inc. (“RC”) and The...more

Jaburg Wilk

What’s in a Name? Trademark Strength in the Blockchain Space

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Following the recent investment frenzy in crypto-currencies, blockchain technology has seemingly reached mainstream status. Many different uses for this technology have emerged and are disrupting public and private-sector...more

Hogan Lovells

“BLACK FRIDAY”: Not a trademark, just a day for special shopping deals

Hogan Lovells on

Decision of the German Patent and Trademark Office of 27 March 2018 (ref. no. 30 2013 057 574 – S 33/17/Lösch) - The German PTO has seen the light in the dark of the “Black Friday” battles: The term has been declared free...more

Dorsey & Whitney LLP

Laudatory Terms – Super Trademarks or Not Worth the Trouble?

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Hello loyal TMCA readers – This is the first installment of what we hope to be an informative series of posts called Quirky Questions: TMCA Edition. Our labor and employment colleagues have a great blog, Quirky Questions,...more

Smart & Biggar

Six Key Trademark Filing and Protection Strategies for Canada in 2018

Smart & Biggar on

As 2017 draws to a close and we begin to look forward to the new year, the countdown to the implementation of Canada’s new trademark law begins in earnest. Announced in 2014, Canada’s Bill C-31 is expected to be implemented...more

Chambliss, Bahner & Stophel, P.C.

Intellectual Property Law Series: Common Trademark Pitfalls Even the Pros Make

We’ve all heard of trademarks. But, what exactly do they do? And how do you select your trademarks, protect them, and then properly use them in commerce?...more

Jones Day

European Union Trademark Reform—Further Changes Have Arrived

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The Situation: Alterations to the European Union’s trademark laws came into force on October 1, 2017. ...more

Hogan Lovells

Getting a 3D mark in Vietnam - Overcoming refusals and an industrial design comparative.

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The National Office of Intellectual Property in Vietnam (“NOIP”) has granted a significant number of trade mark registrations for 3D marks. Recently there are around 1-3 3D marks granted each month, but unfortunately there is...more

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