News & Analysis as of

Generic Marks Corporate Branding

Vondran Legal

Proper grounds to cancel another companies trademark

Vondran Legal on

In business, trademarks are everything. It's how consumers come to know, love and trust your brand. It's a valuable corporate asset, and many disputes can arise of name rights with the explosion of e-commerce and the...more

Sterne, Kessler, Goldstein & Fox P.L.L.C.

MarkIt to Market® - July 2023: How to Lose a Mark in 3 Ways – Part 2: Genericide

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

Sterne, Kessler, Goldstein & Fox P.L.L.C.

MarkIt to Market® - July 2023

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

Dorsey & Whitney LLP

Shifting Gears: A Quick Tour of Genericide

Dorsey & Whitney LLP on

Have you ever been to an indoor cycling class? If so, you most likely have heard the term “spin class,” or referred to the act itself as “spinning.” Mad Dogg Athletics, Inc. would take offense, however, calling such uses...more

Dorsey & Whitney LLP

Derby Pie Eats Humble Pie

Dorsey & Whitney LLP on

Rupp v. Courier-Journal, Inc. involves a dispute between the makers of DERBY-PIE®—a trademarked chocolate-nut pie—and a local newspaper that published two articles about other businesses creating other chocolate-nut desserts....more

Morrison & Foerster LLP

Landmark Trademark Protection Case Before Supreme Court

United States trademark law makes a strong distinction between “descriptive” and “generic” terms. The former are potentially accorded substantial benefits, while the latter can never be entitled to protection and are not...more

Akerman LLP - Marks, Works & Secrets

The Joint is Just a Music Joint, Not a Trademark

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

Dorsey & Whitney LLP

Booking.com Heads to the High Court

Dorsey & Whitney LLP on

Last Friday, the U.S. Supreme Court granted the USPTO’s writ of certiorari to review traveling website company Booking.com’s trademark application for “booking.com”. The TMCA previously covered developments in this case here....more

Goulston & Storrs PC

Protecting the Popular Brand: Considerations to Avoid Genericide

Goulston & Storrs PC on

When it comes to trademark registration, there is such a thing as being too popular. Marks such as Aspirin, Fiberglass, Zipper and Flip Phone became so ubiquitous that they were found to be generic—a commonly used name or...more

Sterne, Kessler, Goldstein & Fox P.L.L.C.

Ugh (or Ugg?), Another Trademark Dispute

UGG brand boots are a popular fixture on many holiday wish lists, but did you know that the UGG trademark has been the center of a dispute for the past decade? The comfortable sheepskin boots had a long history prior to their...more

Nutter McClennen & Fish LLP

Who vs. What: 4 Steps to Prevent Your Trademark from Falling in the 'Genericide' Abyss

Recently the Ninth Circuit ruled that Google’s trademark for search engines has not become generic and is still enforceable as to search engines. As Bayer learned with its previously-existing trademark aspirin, when a court...more

11 Results
 / 
View per page
Page: of 1

"My best business intelligence, in one easy email…"

Your first step to building a free, personalized, morning email brief covering pertinent authors and topics on JD Supra:
*By using the service, you signify your acceptance of JD Supra's Privacy Policy.
- hide
- hide