A mark that is “primarily merely a surname” cannot be registered on the Principal Register per Section 2(e)(4) of the Trademark Act, 15 U.S.C. § 1052(e)(4). Even though a surname may be rare, in In re Weale Care, LLC, Serial...more
In a recent precedential decision, the TTAB held that the addition of one initial —or possibly even more than one initial—in front of a surname does not necessarily create the impression of a personal name. Rather, the Board...more
Trademark lawyers get excited when trademark protection maneuvers make international headlines; add glamorous royals Harry and Meghan to the mix, and everyone has an opinion on the ramifications of Sussexit and the SUSSEX...more
In a non-precedential opinion issued this month, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office’s Trademark Trial and Appeal Board affirmed the refusal to register Jos. A. Magnus & Co., LLC’s mark MAGNUS for “whiskey, gin, and...more
The Canadian Intellectual Property Office has recently revised its Practice Notice regarding name and surname objections....more
Question: What do Sean Combs, J.K. Rowling, LeBron James, Lionel Messi, and Mark Wahlberg have in common? Two things, actually. First, they are all listed on the Forbes 2017 Celebrity 100 List; second, they all have gone to...more
Last month we reported on the Federal Circuit decision in Earnhardt v. Earnhardt, vacating and remanding the TTAB’s dismissal of the opposition by Teresa Earnhardt (widow of Dale Earnhardt) to the “Earnhardt Collection”...more
On July 27, 2017, the Federal Circuit decided Earnhardt v. Earnhardt, a trademark collision between two relatives of the famous race car driver, Dale Earnhardt. The case involved an appeal from a TTAB decision between Teresa...more
The April 2017 issue of Sterne Kessler's MarkIt to Market® discusses navigating the lifecycle of an eponymous brand and lists the new gTLD Sunrise periods. ...more
In this three-part series, we identified at least three distinct seasons in the lifecycle of an eponymous brand: (1) Choosing the Brand, (2) Commercialization, and (3) Legacy of the Brand. In Part 1, we discussed "Choosing...more
In Steven Covey's book, 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, he espouses the idea that "all things are created twice … a mental (first) creation, and a physical (second) creation" (see link here). This idea applies aptly to...more
Kate Spade, Paul Frank, Joseph Abboud, Catherine Malandrino, and Karen Millen—aside from being well-known designers, all have something else in common; they no longer own the right to use their personal names as their brands....more
Barr. Aldecoa. Hechter. Adlon. Kepler. Butterfields. What do these words have in common, you may ask? They were all recently found to be "primarily merely a surname," and refused registration by the Trademark Trial and Appeal...more
The US Trademark Trial and Appeal Board has, again, explained how and when surnames may function as trademarks. In re Enumclaw Farms LLC, Application Serial No. 85942195 (TTAB June 24, 2016). ...more