From Paper to Digital: The California DMV's Leap Into Blockchain Technology — The Crypto Exchange Podcast
Nonprofit Quick Tip: State Filings in Washington and Oregon
Nonprofit Quick Tip: Nevada and Arizona Nonprofit Corporation Registration and Annual Filings
Navigating the Dual Track M&A/IPO– Part One
Trademark Series: Use-based trademark protection
Trademark Series: Building a global brand
The Ska / DuClaw Trademark Dispute Over EUPHORIA, Trademark Lessons for the Craft Brewer
Last month, the Fourth Circuit issued a landmark intellectual property ruling in The Prudential Insurance Company of America v. Shenzhen Stone Network Information Ltd., No. 21-1823 (4th Cir. Jan. 24, 2023)....more
In its ongoing efforts to modernize its practices and increase the efficiency of examination, the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) is implementing two changes to issuance of trademark registration...more
I. Trade Dress Is Either a Trademark or Service Mark. “Trade dress” functions as either a trademark or service mark. A “trademark” is any word, term, phase, symbol, logo, design, shape, tag line, background, color, scent,...more
So you want to register a domain name for your company’s registered trademark only to find out, it’s already been claimed by someone other than you. Even worse, someone has incorporated your trademark into his domain name and...more
As first reported in our December 2013 newsletter, the first new generic top-level domains (gTLDs, the group of letters after the "dot" in a domain name) have launched their "Sunrise" registration periods. Please contact us...more
In a recent decision under the Uniform Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy (UDRP) before the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), a panel denied the transfer of a domain name mainly based on the lack of evidence...more
Last week I was fortunate to attend the Managing the Trademark Asset Lifecycle Conference, hosted by World Trademark Review. The topics discussed throughout the day touched on everything from assessing portfolio strength and...more
Several new unrestricted generic Top Level Domains (gTLDs), such as .store and .stream, are now available, with several others set to launch soon. You are afforded a short window of time, referred to as the Sunrise...more
The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) recently issued a final rule codifying current USPTO practice relating to certification marks. Certification marks are used by authorized users to indicate the following:...more
News headlines abound concerning the potential for normalizing trade relations with Cuba. U.S. companies that are likely to do business in Cuba, if and when trade restrictions are fully lifted, should take steps now to...more
As first reported in our December 2013 newsletter, the first new generic top-level domains (gTLDs, the group of letters after the "dot" in a domain name) have launched their "Sunrise" registration periods. Please see our...more
Registration Cancelled Where Services Related to Mark Not Provided - Playdom, Inc. filed a petition to cancel Couture’s mark, arguing that the registration was void because Couture did not use the mark in commerce as of...more
In a well-written opinion, the Supreme Court ruled this week that a final TTAB decision on likelihood of confusion regarding a particular mark can be binding in separate trademark infringement litigation. The Court reversed a...more
Yesterday the United States Supreme Court issued a landmark ruling in B&B Hardware, Inc. v. Hargis Industries, Inc. et al., case number 13-352, 575 U.S. ___ (2015), holding that likelihood of confusion determinations by the...more
TTAB Registration Decisions May Have Issue Preclusion Effect - On March 24, 2015, in B&B Hardware, Inc. v. Hargis Industries, Inc., the Supreme Court raised the stakes and importance of decisions by the Trademark...more
Yesterday, the Supreme Court held in B&B Hardware v. Hargis Industries that likelihood-of-confusion decisions by the United States Patent and Trademark Office’s Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (“TTAB”) can have preclusive...more
The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that Trademark Trial and Appeal Board ("TTAB") decisions on likelihood of confusion in disputes over registration may preclude relitigation of the issue in a later suit for trademark...more
Tuesday the Supreme Court, in B&B Hardware Inc. v. Hargis Industries Inc. et al., case number 13-352, decided that Trademark Trial and Appeal Board ("TTAB") decisions preclude federal courts from ruling on issues that are...more
In a 7 – 2 decision issued March 24, 2015, the U.S. Supreme Court held that decisions of the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (TTAB) on the issue of likelihood of confusion, made in registration cases, can be binding on...more
Domaines Pinnacle, a Canadian corporation and producer of alcoholic ice apple wines, filed an application with the US Patent and Trademark Office seeking to register the mark DOMAINE PINNACLE for “apple juices and apple-based...more
New opportunities for the banking community are coming this year. In the fall of 2014, the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN), the entity responsible for coordinating internet domain names, granted...more
On December 2, 2014, the United States Supreme Court heard oral argument in B&B Hardware, Inc. v. Hargis Industries, Inc.. The question before the Supreme Court is how much deference, if any, a federal district court hearing...more
Unlike most countries, US trademark law generally requires that a mark be in use before it can be protected. The US recognizes common law rights in unregistered marks if they have been adopted in good faith and are in actual...more