How To Select a Strong Trademark
Joining a series of precedential decisions about descriptiveness, the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board recently affirmed a refusal to register Sheet Pile, LLC’s (“Applicant”) mark ZPILE on the Principal Register, on the...more
Welcome to the March 2024 issue of Sterne Kessler’s MarkIt to Market® newsletter. This month, we discuss the IPR Center’s efforts to stop global IP theft and address counterfeiting on both home and foreign turf; a recent TTAB...more
Trademark litigants should heed the cautionary tale in this case – develop your arguments or risk waiving them. The United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit continued its recent scrutiny of the practices of the...more
On March 5, 2021, the U.S. Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (“TTAB”) issued a precedential decision affirming refusal of SolarWindow Technologies, Inc.’s application to register the word mark POWERCOATINGS. The decision is a...more
The process to apply for a federal trademark registration is a separate, and more involved examination process, than registering a business name with a state’s Secretary of State. The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office...more
How appropriate that the first-ever Supreme Court case to consider whether trademarks used on the internet can be registered should also be the first in which oral argument was conducted remotely. The issue in this historic...more
The Lanham Act (“Act”) makes it clear that generic terms cannot be registered as trademarks. But can an online business create a protectable trademark by adding a generic top-level domain (e.g., “.com”) to an otherwise...more
On Monday, we listened in real time to the livestreamed Supreme Court oral arguments in the trademark registration case United States Patent and Trademark Office v. Booking.com B.V. Because of COVID-19, the arguments were...more
On May 4, 2020, the United States Supreme Court heard its first ever telephonic oral argument in its history. The case, styled United States Patent and Trademark Office v. Booking.com, B.V., addressed the issue of whether the...more
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
The Supreme Court of the United States granted certiorari on a petition filed by the US Patent and Trademark Office (PTO) seeking to overturn a district court decision in favor of Booking.com. The PTO argues that the mark is...more
Breaking News! What happened? The United States Supreme Court recently announced that it has granted certiorari in United States Patent and Trademark Office v. Booking.com B.V., a case about whether the addition of...more
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 denying a doll maker’s motion to dismiss a mom’s opposition to the registration of the trademark RAPUNZEL, the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (TTAB) has relaxed the already liberal standard for what constitutes a “real...more
Rapunzel potentially was released from the trademark monopoly tower, not by her hair, but by trademark opposer and law professor Rebecca Curtin....more
If you have ever had a Coke Zero, what do you understand ZERO to mean – “zero calories,” “zero sugar,” “zero carbohydrates” or some combination of each? If your friend who never had a Coke Zero asked you what the difference...more
In This Issue - Gender Diversity in Patenting: Current Landscape and Recommendations - The gender gap in patenting is a current challenge that companies face. While this issue seems pervasive, companies and lawyers can...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
The US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit affirmed a Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (TTAB) decision denying registration of the mark FIRST TUESDAY for use in connection with lottery services and games based on...more
Many online businesses prefer to use domain names that communicate as clearly and concisely as possible the types of goods and services offered on their websites. That may be good marketing strategy. But as a recent decision...more
In a recent (non-precedential) decision , the TTAB refused to register the mark MEAT CANDY as being merely descriptive of Applicant's restaurant services. To anyone who is not a meat connoisseur, a 2(e)(1) refusal seems to be...more
Attorneys’ Fees Might be More Readily Granted in Trademark Cases - Last year, the U.S. Supreme Court relaxed the standard for awarding attorneys’ fees to the prevailing party in patent infringement cases. Octane...more