PODCAST: Williams Mullen's Trending Now - Enforcing and Expanding Your Brand During the COVID-19 Pandemic
The Federal Circuit partially refuted the long held assumption that the trademark applicant has the burden of proving third party marks were in use when determining the strength of the applicant mark. The panel led by Judge...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
In response to the protracted impact of COVID-19, the US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) has determined that the pandemic constitutes an extraordinary situation warranting several announcements over the past year that...more
Suppose that you want to register a trademark that identifies a source of goods or services for your business. What if you file a federal trademark application and the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office refuses registration of...more
As we near the second year of the COVID-19 pandemic, trademark maintenance deadlines in 2021 create new obstacles for registrants. To maintain a federal trademark registration, registrants must periodically file an...more
Despite the black humor that March 2020 has never actually ended, time does keep marching on and presenting new challenges. As we near the second year of the COVID-19 pandemic, trademark maintenance deadlines in 2021 create...more
With the closure of “non-essential” businesses throughout the country and the world, the use of trademarks on and in connection with products and services may be interrupted or altogether halted for a period of time. This...more
With a “no-deal” scenario looking increasingly more likely, what should brand owners be doing to prepare for 31 October this year? EU trade marks in the UK - Once the UK leaves the EU, existing EU trade marks (EUTMs)...more
In July, the Second Board of Appeal of EUIPO declared the MONOPOLY trade mark invalid to the extent that the underlying application covered goods and services for which the trade mark was already registered. Such filings...more
After five years of anticipation, sweeping changes to Canada’s trademark law will finally come into force on June 17, 2019. The changes, which are substantial, have been canvassed in previous IP Updates. The following briefly...more