JONES DAY TALKS®: Women in IP: 2020 in Review and a Look Toward 2021
Join Sterne Kessler’s Global Trademark & Brand Protection team for our mid-year review webinar, when we will take a closer look at the latest developments in trademark law. From recent court decisions to industry-trends, our...more
The US Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit affirmed a district court’s summary judgment grant in a trademark dispute, finding that the district court did not err in concluding that a subset of design elements lacked...more
Every month, Erise’s trademark attorneys review the latest developments at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, in the courts, and across the corporate world to bring you the stories that you should know about: Fruity...more
Is Travis Kelce’s newfound status as Taylor Swift’s boyfriend enough to meet the United States Patent and Trademark Office’s (USPTO) “acquired distinctiveness” standard? He plans to find out with the help of Time Person of...more
Charity seeking to register product designs as trademark icon not met the “very high burden” for showing acquired distinctiveness - On September 1, 2023 the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (TTAB) issued a nonprecedential...more
One of the signs of a healthy trademark is a certain level of distinctiveness. Distinctiveness is related to consumers’ love and recognition of a mark as an indicator of a product’s source, such that consumers trust the mark...more
Thank you for reading the July 2023 issue of Sterne Kessler's MarkIt to Market® newsletter. This month, we continue our three-part series that closely examines ways to lose trademark rights with a discussion of genericide. We...more
In In re Palacio Del Rio Inc (Serial Nos 88412764 and 88437801), the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (TTAB) has issued an opinion affirming the refusal of two building design mark applications by Palacio Del Rio Inc (PDR) –...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
In today’s age, the importance of brands (and in turn trademarks) cannot be undermined. It is through brands that businesses (be it domestic or international) are able to thrive and flourish in various highly competitive...more
Since Article 8 of the Trademark Law of China (2001) stipulates that a three-dimensional sign can be filed for registration as a trademark, three-dimensional sign trademarks (also known as the “three-dimensional trademarks”)...more
Many people associate brands with particular colors – if you think of Tiffany & Co., you think of its famous robins-egg blue boxes and branding; if you think of Barbie, you can see the bright pink that came with so many...more
Ending a hard-fought three-year campaign to secure registration of a popular handbag, the US Patent & Trademark Office (PTO) Trademark Trial & Appeal Board designated as precedential its decision refusing registration of the...more
For the second time, the US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit examined the standard for demonstrating fraud in a party’s claim of a trademark’s acquired distinctiveness for purposes of registration under Section 2(f)...more
BROOKLYN BREWERY CORPORATION V. BROOKLYN BREW SHOP, LLC - Before Judges Dyk, O’Malley, and Hughes. Appeal from the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board. Summary: A challenger must demonstrate an injury in fact to have...more
The typical crack and fizz sound that occurs when opening a carbonated beverage is not registrable as a sound mark as it lacks any distinctive character. This was decided by the General Court of the European Union (GC) in a...more
The TTAB has affirmed a refusal to register the trade dress configuration mark (see below) of the popular Timberland boot, a wardrobe staple in hip-hop culture (see The World is Yours by Nas), stating the configuration failed...more
National Collegiate Athletic Association v. Virginia Urology Center, P.C. - (TTAB Proceeding No.: 92076376) - The National Collegiate Athletic Association, better known as the NCAA, filed a petition before the...more
In a recent non-precedential opinion, the TTAB affirmed a refusal to register Melissa & Doug, LLC’s red oval background mark (the “Proposed Mark”), finding that the acquired distinctiveness factors weighed against a finding...more
[co-author: Joseph Diorio, Law Clerk] The January 2021 issue of Sterne Kessler's MarkIt to Market® newsletter discusses: a recent non-precedential TTAB decision on background designs; the Trademark Modernization Act;...more
Jones Day's Meredith Wilkes and Anna Raimer discuss 2020's most significant developments in trademark law and preview what's to come in 2021, including possible progress in Washington on the highly anticipated Trademark...more
Most businesses are familiar with the concept of trademarking a word, logo, or slogan that serves as a unique identifier of their goods or services. After all, those are the markers that first come to mind when you think...more
Addressing the Supreme Court of the United States’ ruling in USPTO v. Booking.com B.V., the US Patent and Trademark Office (PTO) recently issued guidance on the examining procedures for “generic.com terms.” (Examination Guide...more
As we reported in our July 7, 2020 blog post on the USPTO v. Booking.com B.V decision, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that a proposed mark consisting of the combination of a generic term and a generic top-level domain, like...more
In U.S. Patent & Trademark Office v. Booking.com B.V., the Supreme Court held, in an 8-1 decision, that a generic word combined with the top-level domain “.com” can be a federally protectable trademark if it has secondary...more