Recent legislative changes in California have opened up exciting opportunities for cannabis lounges and retailers. With a new law allowing on-premise consumption areas, the sale of food and drinks, and the hosting of live...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
8/29/2024
/ Cannabis Products ,
Cannabis-Related Businesses (CRBs) ,
Controlled Substances ,
Controlled Substances Act ,
Intellectual Property Protection ,
Marijuana ,
Marijuana Related Businesses ,
Trademark Application ,
Trademark Litigation ,
Trademark Trial and Appeal Board ,
Trademarks ,
USPTO
In a recent precedential decision, the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (the “Board”) found that Door Dash, Inc. (“Door Dash”) was merely doing what all trademark owners must do—protect their valuable rights. Door Dash, Inc....more
8/20/2024
/ Cannabis-Related Businesses (CRBs) ,
Corporate Counsel ,
DoorDash ,
Intellectual Property Protection ,
Lanham Act ,
Trademark Bullying ,
Trademark Infringement ,
Trademark Litigation ,
Trademark Ownership ,
Trademark Trial and Appeal Board ,
Trademarks ,
Unfair Competition
By any measure, the world has changed vastly since we issued our first Commercial Litigation Outlook in 2020. We are now on our fourth installment of providing insights and flagging trends for what to expect in the coming...more
2/16/2024
/ Arbitration ,
Artificial Intelligence ,
Banks ,
Class Action ,
Commercial Bankruptcy ,
Commercial Court ,
Commercial Litigation ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Copyright ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Intellectual Property Protection ,
Machine Learning ,
Merger Agreements ,
Patents ,
Trademarks
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
1/23/2024
/ Agribusiness ,
Brand ,
Cannabis Products ,
Cannabis-Related Businesses (CRBs) ,
Controlled Substances ,
Controlled Substances Act ,
Deceptively Misdescriptive ,
Intellectual Property Protection ,
Marijuana ,
Marijuana Related Businesses ,
Plant Based Products ,
Trademark Application ,
Trademark Registration ,
Trademark Trial and Appeal Board ,
Trademarks ,
USPTO
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
7/19/2023
/ Cannabis Products ,
Cannabis-Related Businesses (CRBs) ,
Controlled Substances Act ,
Intellectual Property Litigation ,
Intellectual Property Protection ,
Marijuana ,
Trademark Infringement ,
Trademark Registration ,
Trademark Trial and Appeal Board ,
Trademarks ,
USPTO
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
6/8/2023
/ Agribusiness ,
Cannabis Products ,
Controlled Substances Act ,
Drug Paraphernalia ,
Federal Trademark Register ,
Intellectual Property Protection ,
Marijuana ,
Supremacy Clause ,
Trademark Registration ,
Trademark Trial and Appeal Board ,
Trademarks ,
USPTO
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
Despite legislative uncertainty (e.g., bills that have been passed, multiple times, but not become law), a wide range of brilliant entrepreneurs, industrial companies, investment mavens, and service providers have been...more