Minor Cannabinoids: Exploring the Science, Legality, & Opportunities
The Responsible Corporate Officer Doctrine and the Food, Beverage and Agribusiness Industry — What You Need to Know
Podcast: Non-binding Guidance: FDA’s Regulation of Products Containing CBD
Apologies for the cannabis puns in the title, but they are required by law. Okay, you are correct. That is not true. But it is true that trademark protection is important for individuals in the cannabis industry. Earlier this...more
In its first occasion to interpret § 353b of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FDCA), the US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit relied on the “implied preemption doctrine” to affirm a district court’s case...more
The US Court of Appeals for the First Circuit affirmed-in-part and vacated-in-part a district court ruling dismissing claims under the Lanham Act and Massachusetts consumer protection law based on statements on a website...more
The fashion industry has certainly seen its fair share of change over the last year given consumer trends, geopolitical & public health issues, innovation in technology and legal developments and we don’t anticipate that...more
Future Intentions Not Enough to Pave the Road to Registration - “Reduces pain,” “alleviates anxiety,” “improves sleep” – these are just some of the claims of the miraculous CBD. The surfeit of new CBD brands and products...more
The September 2021 issue of Sterne Kessler's MarkIt to Market® newsletter discusses a recent non-precedential Trademark Trial and Appeal Board decision regarding intent-to-use applications covering CBD products currently...more
On July 14, 2021, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, together with Senate Finance Committee Chair Ron Wyden and Senator Cory Booker, released a discussion draft of the Cannabis Administration and Opportunity Act (the...more
[co-author: Richa Patel, Summer Associate] The July 2021 issue of Sterne Kessler's MarkIt to Market® newsletter discusses fluid trademarks and the Cannabis Administration and Opportunity Act. Plus, check out the answer key...more
There are over 2,000 pending federal trademark applications for supplements containing cannabidiol ("CBD"). None of these applications is likely to proceed to registration under current law....more
Examining attorneys at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) are citing a recent 2020 decision by the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (TTAB) to support the position that trademarks for many products (particularly...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
Creativity abounds in the CBD industry – both in the wide variety of products infused with it, and in the efforts undergone by applicants trying to circumvent the Trademark Act to register per se unlawful CBD-infused...more
On September 25, 2020, the TTAB issued a non-precedential decision summarily rejecting an applicant’s attack against an examining attorney’s refusal to register the mark NATURAL LEAF CBD LIVE BETTER NATURALLY & Design for use...more
The cannabis industry is growing in leaps and bounds, but entrepreneurs interested in developing cannabis companies – as well as business people interested in investing in them – must make certain that they know what they are...more
The relationship between the cannabis industry and intellectual property laws in the United States is unique and complicated, in many ways mirroring the nation’s collective views on the cannabis plant. This is unfortunate, in...more
A June 16, 2020 precedential decision by the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board held that Federal trademark registration is not available for food, beverages, or nutritional/dietary supplements to which hemp-derived cannibidiol...more
Despite the 2018 Farm Bill’s relaxation of hemp regulation, and the fact that many states that have decriminalized or legalized cannabis and its derivatives, applicants still may face an uphill battle in obtaining federal...more
In 2018, when the Farm Bill was signed into law, hemp cultivators and extract producers were hopeful that the federal pressure on their industry might begin to ease. The 2018 Farm Bill removed hemp from the Controlled...more
This article discusses the global developments for the registration of cannabis and cannabis-related trademarks in the United States, Canada, Mexico, and the European Union....more
Unlike patents and copyrights, obtaining a federally registered trademark requires (among other things) that applicants abide by the “lawful” use in commerce requirement. In other words, the United States Patent and Trademark...more
Legalizing “hemp” under the Agricultural Improvement Act of 2018 (2018 Farm Bill) has triggered an important change for the examination of federal trademark applications concerning cannabis and cannabis-derived goods and...more
The continuing internal tension between various agencies and offices of the U.S. federal government over how to address the (seemingly) unstoppable growth of the marijuana industry in light of current federal law has been a...more
Brand owners seeking to register cannabis-related trademarks take note: the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) recently issued guidance regarding the effects of the 2018 Farm Bill on the registration of trademarks for...more
The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office ("USPTO") generally refuses to register marks that violate federal law. Hemp and hemp-derived CBD were previously classified as Schedule I controlled substances under the Controlled...more
Trademark practitioners, hemp producers, and hemp-derived product manufacturers have long struggled with the clash of federal and state law regarding protection of trademarks with the United States Patent and Trademark Office...more