On August 23, 2022, the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (“TTAB”) rejected on summary judgment JHO Intellectual Property Holdings’ (“Applicant”) application to register the mark “PURPLE RAIN” for a variety of nutritional...more
The Trademark Trial & Appeal Board (“TTAB”) affirmed the US Patent & Trademark Office’s (“PTO”) refusal to register two different logo marks filed by California’s County of Orange (“County”) on the ground that they constitute...more
In a precedential decision, the United States Patent and Trademark Office, Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (the “Board”) affirmed the refusal to register the trademark GOD BLESS THE USA for home decor items on the ground...more
Slogans can, but do not always, function as trademarks. To be sure, the United States Patent and Trademark Office (“USPTO”) frequently allows slogans such as JUST DO IT! or QUALITY THROUGH CRAFTSMANSHIP, among many others, to...more
On September 30, 2020, the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board ruled in favor of the assignee of the famous LEHMAN BROTHERS trademark against the registration that mark as a brand name for beer, spirits, and bar and restaurant...more
10/8/2020
/ Abandonment ,
Barclays ,
Evidence ,
Intellectual Property Protection ,
Lehman Brothers ,
Likelihood of Confusion ,
Priority Disputes ,
Trademark Application ,
Trademark Expiration ,
Trademark Litigation ,
Trademark Registration ,
Trademark Trial and Appeal Board ,
Trademarks
As cannabis products become legal in more and more states, commercial interest grows in protecting the trademarks associated with those products. The United States Patent and Trademark Office has maintained its refusal to...more
3/16/2020
/ Cannabidiol (CBD) oil ,
Cannabis Products ,
Common Law Claims ,
Counterclaims ,
Cross Motions ,
Decriminalization of Marijuana ,
Dietary Supplements ,
Intellectual Property Protection ,
Lanham Act ,
Marijuana ,
Medical Foods ,
Motion to Dismiss ,
Plant Based Products ,
Preemption ,
Preliminary Injunctions ,
Priority Disputes ,
Retail Market ,
Summary Judgment ,
Trademark Application ,
Trademark Cancellation ,
Trademark Infringement ,
Trademark Litigation ,
Trademark Registration ,
Trademarks ,
Unfair or Deceptive Trade Practices ,
USPTO
The Federal Circuit in In re JC Hospitality LLC recently affirmed the United States Patent and Trademark Office, Trademark Trial and Appeal Board’s refusal to register the service mark THE JOINT for a venue offering...more
3/11/2020
/ Acquired Distinctiveness ,
Appeals ,
Corporate Branding ,
Descriptive Trademarks ,
Generic Marks ,
Intellectual Property Protection ,
Music ,
Restaurant Industry ,
Trademark Application ,
Trademark Registration ,
Trademark Trial and Appeal Board ,
Trademarks ,
USPTO
The Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (the “Board”) recently held that AT&T Mobility, LLC (“AT&T”) had sufficient interest in its almost completely moribund CINGULAR name to oppose two pending trademark applications filed by...more
3/3/2020
/ Abandonment ,
Article III ,
AT&T ,
Intellectual Property Protection ,
Lanham Act ,
Standing ,
Subsidiaries ,
Trademark Application ,
Trademark Infringement ,
Trademark Trial and Appeal Board ,
Trademarks ,
Wireless Industry ,
Wireless Technology
In a recent decision on remand from the Federal Circuit, the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (“Board”) rejected Petitioner adidas AG’s (“adidas”) claim that Respondent Christian Faith Fellowship Church (“CFFC”) abandoned its...more
12/2/2019
/ Abandonment ,
Adidas ,
Commerce Clause ,
Fashion Branding ,
Fashion Design ,
Fashion Industry ,
Intellectual Property Protection ,
Intent to Cancel ,
Inter Partes Review (IPR) Proceeding ,
Interstate Commerce ,
Lanham Act ,
Remand ,
Retail Market ,
Trademark Application ,
Trademark Registration ,
Trademark Trial and Appeal Board ,
Trademarks ,
Unitary Trademark ,
Use in Commerce ,
USPTO
The Federal Circuit upheld a Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (“Board”) decision refusing registration of an athletic apparel company’s trademark, holding that the trademark applicant waived its key arguments by not raising...more
9/9/2019
/ Appeals ,
Brand ,
Fashion Branding ,
Fashion Design ,
Intellectual Property Protection ,
Likelihood of Confusion ,
Motion for Reconsideration ,
Oral Argument ,
Sports Apparel ,
Trademark Application ,
Trademark Litigation ,
Trademark Trial and Appeal Board ,
Trademarks ,
Waiver of Rights
The Trademark Trial and Appeal Board recently affirmed the refusal to register a trademark application for BIG SIX for wine on the ground that the term is generic or descriptive of wines. In re Plata Wine Partners, LLC,...more
In a case affecting the fast-growing legal cannabis industry, the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (“TTAB” or “Board”) affirmed the United States Patent and Trademark Office’s (“USPTO”) refusal to register two trademarks for...more
7/26/2019
/ Cannabidiol (CBD) oil ,
Cannabis Products ,
Controlled Substances ,
Controlled Substances Act ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Decriminalization of Marijuana ,
Farm Bill ,
Hemp ,
Intellectual Property Litigation ,
Intellectual Property Protection ,
Marijuana ,
Marijuana Related Businesses ,
Trademark Application ,
Trademark Trial and Appeal Board ,
Trademarks ,
USPTO ,
Vaping
The Federal Circuit recently sustained the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board’s (“TTAB” or the “Board”) refusal to register Louis Vuitton Malletier’s (“LVM”) trademark APOGÉE for perfumes, a decision that will concern...more
7/17/2019
/ Cosmetics ,
Fashion Branding ,
Intellectual Property Protection ,
Likelihood of Confusion ,
Louis Vuitton ,
Personal Care Products ,
Retail Market ,
Trademark Application ,
Trademark Infringement ,
Trademark Litigation ,
Trademark Trial and Appeal Board ,
Trademarks ,
USPTO
The United States Patent and Trademark Office recently issued a new Examination Guide relating to trademarks for cannabis and cannabis-related goods and services....more
5/10/2019
/ Cannabidiol (CBD) oil ,
Cannabis Products ,
Decriminalization of Marijuana ,
Examination Manual ,
Hemp ,
Intellectual Property Protection ,
Marijuana ,
Marijuana Related Businesses ,
Trademark Application ,
Trademarks ,
USPTO
Rapunzel potentially was released from the trademark monopoly tower, not by her hair, but by trademark opposer and law professor Rebecca Curtin....more
According to the Federal Circuit, the skinny on the term “Thins” is that it may be generic for thinly cut snack crackers. Real Foods Pty Ltd. V. Frito-Lay North America, Inc., (October 4, 2018 Fed. Cir.)....more
10/16/2018
/ Acquired Distinctiveness ,
Appeals ,
Descriptive Trademarks ,
Food Manufacturers ,
Frito-Lay ,
Intellectual Property Protection ,
Trademark Application ,
Trademark Infringement ,
Trademark Litigation ,
Trademark Registration ,
Trademark Trial and Appeal Board ,
Trademarks
William Adams is a musical performer who is more famously known by his stage name, will.i.am. A recent ruling from the United States Patent and Trademark Office, Trademark Trial and Appeal Board, unfortunately makes him a...more
8/30/2018
/ Fashion Design ,
Fashion Industry ,
Hashtags ,
International Trademark Protection ,
Likelihood of Confusion ,
Musical Sound Recordings ,
Trademark Application ,
Trademark Infringement ,
Trademark Registration ,
Trademarks ,
USPTO
The New Jersey Turnpike Authority (“NJTA”) was forced to pay a big toll when the United States Patent and Trademark Office, Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (the “Board”), dismissed its opposition to a pizza restaurant’s...more
5/30/2018
/ Intellectual Property Protection ,
Likelihood of Confusion ,
Logos ,
Restaurant Industry ,
Trademark Application ,
Trademark Infringement ,
Trademark Litigation ,
Trademark Registration ,
Trademark Trial and Appeal Board ,
Trademarks ,
Transportation Industry
In a precedential decision, the United States Patent and Trademark Office, Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (“TTAB” or the “Board”) affirmed a refusal to register the logo...more
The United States Patent and Trademark Office, Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (the “Board”) modified its treatment of the “family of trademarks” doctrine in the recent case In re LC Trademarks, Inc., Serial No. 85890412...more
1/16/2017
/ Ex Parte ,
Fast-Food Industry ,
Franchises ,
Hitachi ,
Intellectual Property Protection ,
Popular ,
Technology Sector ,
Trademark Application ,
Trademark Trial and Appeal Board ,
Trademarks ,
USPTO
Recently, a District Court judge issued a scathing rebuke to the United States Patent and Trademark Office in Board of Trustees of the University of Alabama et al. v. Houndstooth Mafia Enterprises LLC, (N.D. Alabama February...more
In a ruling bound to please 15 year-old boys everywhere, the USPTO Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (“TTAB”) reversed the Examining Attorney’s refusal to register the trademark NUT SACK DOUBLE BROWN ALE (in standard character...more
11/5/2015
/ Beer ,
Breweries ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Lanham Act ,
Offensive Language ,
Trademark Act ,
Trademark Application ,
Trademark Infringement ,
Trademark Litigation ,
Trademark Registration ,
Trademark Trial and Appeal Board ,
Trademarks ,
USPTO ,
Wine & Alcohol ,
Young Lawyers
The number of successful oppositions against trademark applications based on a claim that the applicant had “no bona fide intent to use” has been increasing in recent years. On September 10, 2015, in Swiss Grill Ltd. v. Wolf...more
The Trademark Trial and Appeal Board recently re-designated as precedential its May 12, 2015 decision that affirmed refusal to register a mark because the applicant’s specimens – showing the proposed mark in plural form,...more