As a trademark applicant, encountering a prior registration that obstructs your path to registration is never a pleasant experience (nor for your attorneys who have to inform you about it). The frustration only intensifies...more
In a precedential decision, the US Patent & Trademark Office (PTO) Trademark Trial & Appeal Board denied a motion for judgment based on either claim or issue preclusion, and in the alternative for a show cause order, in a...more
As the 1.5 year anniversary of the Trademark Modernization Act’s implementation approaches in June, the United States Patent and Trademark Office now offers an array of helpful guidance on the requirements, format, and even...more
Thank you for reading the April 2023 issue of Sterne Kessler's MarkIt to Market® newsletter. This month, we discuss practice tips for the two new petition processes instituted by the Trademark Modernization Act and highlight...more
As part of the recovery from the global COVID-19 pandemic, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit took steps to return to normal operations. It began requiring live oral arguments in August 2022 and, by November,...more
We are committed to providing insightful commentary on IP developments from around the world to our Japanese clients. In light of that effort, we are continuing our free monthly webinar series, McDermott IP Focus. During...more
This time last year, we introduced a series of blog posts in which we provided an overview of the new ex parte examination and expungement proceedings introduced by the Trademark Modernization Act (“TMA”) and pondered a...more
On December 18, 2021, the final rule implementing the Trademark Modernization Act of 2020 (TMA) went into effect, resulting in one of the most significant amendments to the rules of practice in trademark cases in decades...more
The Trademark Modernization Act of 2020 (TMA) was signed into law on December 27, 2020. The TMA amended the federal trademark law (known as the Lanham Act) to provide new tools to address abuses of the US trademark...more
The USPTO is extending their pro bono efforts to allow those establishing a need to retain voluntary pro bono ex parte examination appeal counsel and eventually pro bono counsel for all proceedings conducted at the Board....more
The PTAB Strategies and Insights newsletter provides timely updates and insights into how best to handle proceedings at the USPTO. It is designed to increase return on investment for all stakeholders looking at the entire...more
The Trademark Modernization Act, many aspects of which went into effect December 27, 2021, implemented numerous changes to United States trademark practice, including codification of letters of protest, changes to the...more
Yes, you read that correctly. Trademark practice at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office as we know it is about to change (well, at least in part). The USPTO recently published its final rule implementing certain...more
In This Issue - Artificial Intelligence: Deepfakes in the Entertainment Industry — Advances in “deepfake” media techniques that use deep learning AI—from uncanny impersonation videos of Tom Cruise and other...more
As 2021 drew to a close, the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) introduced two new procedures pursuant to the Trademark Modernization Act of 2020 (the “Act”), providing new, streamlined avenues to seek...more
The Trademark Modernization Act (TMA) came into force December 18, 2021. Key provisions of the TMA enlarge options for cancelling a trademark registration in whole or in part by targeting nonuse of the registered mark for...more
On December 18, 2021, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) rules implementing the Trademark Modernization Act of 2020 (TMA) went into effect. The first major overhaul of the Lanham Act since 1998, the TMA introduced...more
I. Introduction - On December 27, 2020, the Trademark Modernization Act of 2020 (“TMA”) became law after it passed Congress and was signed by the President as part of the year-end Consolidated Appropriations Act for 2021....more
On December 7, 2020, Congress enacted the Trademark Modernization Act of 2020 (the “TMA”). The United States Patent & Trademark Office (the “USPTO”) recently promulgated rules implementing the TMA, which, in large part, took...more
This year kicked off with new tools to help brand owners protect and enforce their marks. The use of a trademark in commerce is an important aspect of U.S. trademark law; however, an increasing number of trademark...more
Rebuttable Presumption of Irreparable Harm - The Trademark Modernization Act (TMA) was signed into law December 27, 2020. Importantly, the burden shifting provision for trademark owners in litigation seeking preliminary or...more
Earlier this month, certain regulations implementing the Trademark Modernization Act (TMA) went into effect. Per the final rule, the new tools are primarily to clear the “deadwood” – that is, unused registered trademarks –...more
Trademark owners and practitioners have some extra reasons to celebrate this year, as the majority of the Trademark Modernization Act went into effect on December 18, 2021. Among other benefits for trademark infringement...more
The December 2021 issue of Sterne Kessler's MarkIt to Market® newsletter discusses new enforcement tools courtesy of the Trademark Modernization Act; Pfizer's acquisition of Arena Pharmaceuticals; the latest developments in...more
The Trademark Modernization Act (TMA) was signed into law on December 27, 2020, and the United States Patent & Trademark Office (USPTO) recently announced its final rules for implementing the TMA, the majority of which will...more