Mitigating and Addressing Litigation Risks for Cannabis Businesses
Cannabis M&A: Pain Points and Opportunities
Managing Labor and Employment Complexities in Cannabis Businesses
Work This Way: A Labor & Employment Law Podcast - Episode 29: Weed in the Workplace with Christy Rogers of Maynard Nexsen
Intellectual property considerations for launching new cannabis products
Unpacking the current cannabis regulatory landscape and how it impacts your business
Managing Employee Compliance in Highly Regulated Industries — Hiring to Firing Podcast
If Cannabis Is Reclassified, What Will Happen to the Marketplace? – Diagnosing Health Care
Cannabis Law Now Podcast: What’s Next for Schedule III Marijuana
Podcast - DEA Plants the Seed for Rescheduling Marijuana: What's Next?
Cannabis Law Now Podcast: How Florida Will Change the National Cannabis Landscape Through Amendment 3
The Presumption of Innocence Podcast: Special Edition | Episode 36 - Rolling Change: The DEA Turns Over a New Leaf on Marijuana Scheduling
Cannabis Law Now Podcast: Farmers First According to Humboldt Trim Company
Cannabis Law Now Podcast: THC Infused Beverages: Cantrip's Journey Through the Hemp-Derived Looking Glass
Cannabis Law Now Podcast: Cannabis Investing in the U.S. - The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly
Cannabis Law Now Podcast: Catalyst Cannabis Takes on the California Department of Tax and Fee Administration Over Cannabis Excise Taxes
Cannabis Law Now Podcast: Cannabis Banking from the Inside: An Interview with Salal Credit Union
(Podcast) California Employment News: Expanded Workplace Protections Regarding Cannabis Use
California Employment News: Expanded Workplace Protections Regarding Cannabis Use
Cannabis Law Now Podcast: The ‘CannaBoies' Lawsuit and Why it Matters
This is an exciting time for cannabis entrepreneurs as the US government is poised to reclassify cannabis as a Schedule III drug in a move that recognizes cannabis’ medical and therapeutic uses and may open the door for new...more
As the prospect of federal rescheduling of cannabis looms, some in the industry are seemingly attempting to preserve their spot in line at the United States Patent and Trademark Office. A recent Trademark Trial and Appeal...more
The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) will call for cannabis to be rescheduled according to a report by the Associated Press. The anticipated rescheduling follows the Department of Health & Human Services’ (HHS) August...more
Federal trademark registration is typically unavailable for goods and services related to the sale of cannabis. But a combination of federal copyright registration and state trademark registration for these goods and...more
Based on recent events, it seems likely marijuana will be rescheduled under the Controlled Substances Act (CSA) sometime this year. While many industry experts have discussed the impacts in recent months, many questions still...more
Republic Technologies (NA) LLC (“Republic”) filed an application to register the proposed mark 4:20 with the United States Patent and Trademark Office (“USPTO”). Republic amended its goods twice during prosecution of the...more
A Texas appellate court recently upheld a decision to prevent a ban on the sale of delta-8 tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) products in the state. Tex. Dep’t of State Health Servs. v. Sky Mktg. Corp., No. 03-21-00571-CV, 2023 BL...more
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
Over a decade has passed since recreational cannabis began to see legalization at the state level. Yet cannabis businesses continue to grapple with protecting their brands, as trademark protection at the federal level remains...more
A recent lawsuit alleging trademark infringement by AmerikanWeed illustrates the importance of protecting intellectual property in the cannabis industry. Complaint at 9-10, Palmer, et al. v. Komm et al., No. 21-2-13589-3 SEA...more
Recently, we published an article regarding the increasing viability of cannabis related patents. See here. Sadly, the story is the opposite for federal trademarks. Last month, National Concessions Group, Inc. (“NCG”) was...more
In a precedential decision earlier this month, the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board upheld refusals to register two trademarks owned by National Concessions Group Inc. (“National”) on the ground that the goods – essential oil...more
This 4/20, patent owners with Intellectual Property (“IP”) related to cannabis have one more reason to celebrate as they may be able to enforce their rights against infringers in federal court. IP rights may provide an...more
Under the illegality doctrine, courts won’t enforce contracts or claims based on illegal acts. As Bloomberg Law notes, The illegality doctrine comes from the Highwayman’s case, a 1725 case in which an English court...more
The following post explores the bioavailability and efficacy of various cannabis products, followed by a brief overview of the legal protection afforded to each as an intellectual property asset....more
Delta-8-tetrahydrocannabinol (Δ8-THC) is legal under federal law. Or is it? It depends on who you ask. The Ninth Circuit has now weighed in on the issue, following the lead of several states, to conclude that Δ8-THC...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
The June 2021 issue of Sterne Kessler's MarkIt to Market® newsletter discusses recent litigation surrounding copyright registration invalidation and implications of the increase in trademark application filings at the USPTO....more
In an industry that runs on innovation and differentiation, a cannabis brand’s identity is among its most valuable—and most prone to copying—assets. It’s a common myth that cannabis industry brands cannot get trademark...more
The cannabis industry is booming and as it continues to grow, new cannabis-related businesses are forming in various sectors of industry and new plant varieties, products and techniques are developed daily. Protecting...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
Cannabis is a rapidly growing industry; in 2019, overall sales of cannabis products legal under state law were estimated to be worth $13.6 billion, with an expected increase to $29.7 billion by 2025. While marijuana remains a...more
Cannabis sales in America are an economic force, legal reported sales exceeded 10 billion in 2019. Eleven states allow legal recreational use (like alcohol for those over 21) and legal for medical use in an additional 23...more
Trademark owners in the cannabis field keep trying new ways to register their marks, and who can blame them? Branding is everything in an increasingly online world, and protecting your brand’s reputation is paramount to...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