Sharpen Your Sword: Adduce Proof When Claiming Prior Copyright to Challenge a Trademark in China
For startup founders, navigating the complexities of trademark law is essential for protecting your brand. An important aspect of this process involves understanding opposition and cancellation proceedings. These are formal...more
The Trademark Trial & Appeal Board affirmed the rejection of three trademark applications, finding that the applied-for marks would cause confusion with a record-setting major league baseball player. Major League Baseball...more
This spring, join our Smart & Biggar trademark experts and gain new insights at our popular Canadian Trademarks webinar series. Each webinar provides practical tips and strategies for global brand protection in Canada, with a...more
The China National Intellectual Property Administration (CNIPA) circulated a draft amendment to the PRC Trademark Law (TML Draft Amendment) for public comment on January 13, 2023. The TML Draft Amendment is the product of...more
Suppose that you are a foreign applicant who either files a trademark application, opposition proceeding, or cancellation proceeding with the USPTO. Can this act of filing subject the foreign applicant to service of process...more
TTAB Cancellation Actions: Terminating an Infringing Trademark Registration - You learn that another person or entity has a registered trademark at the United States Patent and Trademark Office (the “USPTO”) that is...more
If you recently filed a trademark application with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, you may have noticed that the average time to first action (initial examination) is about six months from the application’s filing date...more
Monster Energy Co. (“Monster Energy”), frequent trademark plaintiff, recently found itself on the receiving end of a trademark infringement lawsuit brought by California company Outdoor Pro Shop, Inc. (“Pro Shop”). Pro Shop’s...more
The August 2021 issue of Sterne Kessler's MarkIt to Market® newsletter discusses Monster Energy's history of trademark disputes in the context of enhancing brand strength, tips for shortening the pendency of trademark filings...more
With all of the business interruption caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, many worldwide trademark offices have taken steps to recognize the issues caused by the crisis. The offices in which applicants from the U.S. most...more
Prior to January 17, 2020, extensions of time were readily available during Canadian trademark prosecution. A single six-month extension could be secured without providing any substantive reasons. Further six-month...more
After you file a trademark application for your brewery name or a beer name there are a couple different paths the application could take, not all of them good. This article will focus on some of those paths....more
When two boxing companies sparred before the TTAB, the gloves came off—and that wasn’t only because the dispute concerned a trademark registration for boxing gloves. In Moreno v. Pro Boxing Supplies, Inc., the petitioner,...more
There’s good news for trademark owners who want to protect the value of their marks: Recent changes to the rules governing trademark opposition and cancellation proceedings have made those proceedings more efficient and...more
The Mexican Senate’s bill establishing a Trademark Opposition System in Mexico was approved by the Chamber of Deputies on April 28, 2016. The bill was approved by the President and will become effective August 30, 2016....more
On April 4, 2016 the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) published a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking that details proposed changes to the USPTO’s rules of practice for trademark application opposition and...more
Similar to the laws of the EU and its member states, as well as other countries around the world, U.S. trademark law provides a mechanism through which parties with standing can oppose pending third-party applications or seek...more
In 2015, U.S. courts provided trademark practitioners with several issues to discuss and debate. Identified and summarized below are the top five most discussed issues....more
In this opinion, the Board granted Respondent’s motion for summary judgment on the basis of claim preclusion based on the prior dismissal of an opposition involving the same parties due to Petitioner’s failure to prosecute....more