Trademark Series: Protecting your mark from becoming generic
Recently, the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit considered whether “gruyere” cheese can be registered as a trademark in the United States, or whether it is merely a generic term that is not entitled to...more
At the end of last month, the United States Patent and Trademark Office (“USPTO”) released a guide clarifying how they were approaching the refusals of applied-for marks that could be generic. In the past, examining attorneys...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
Royal Crown Co., Inc. v. The Coca-Cola Co., 2018 WL 3040163 (Fed. Cir. June 20, 2018) - In late June, the Federal Circuit issued an opinion in the year-long litigation between Royal Crown Co., Inc. (“RC”) and The...more
I. Adding Distinctive Terms or Logos to a Descriptive or Generic Term Will Not Protect the Descriptive or Generic Term. A descriptive trademark1 is one that immediately brings to mind a use, purpose, function,...more
On appeal from the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (TTAB), the US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit affirmed the TTAB’s refusal to register a stylized form of the mark CHURRASCOS for restaurant services, finding that...more
Several big beverage makers recently took each other on in a consolidated proceeding before the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (TTAB) of the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). In the case of Royal Crown...more
Addressing the issue of distinctiveness, the Federal Circuit affirmed the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board’s (TTAB) decision to deny registration of a plaintiff’s mark due to the dearth of evidence supporting the plaintiff’s...more