Podcast: The Briefing by the IP Law Blog - Prince Estate Wants Winery's 'Purple Rain' Trademark Back in the Bottle
The Briefing by the IP Law Blog: Prince Estate Wants Winery's 'Purple Rain' Trademark Back in the Bottle
PODCAST: Williams Mullen's Trending Now: An IP Podcast - False and Misleading Advertising, Label Review
Joining a series of precedential decisions about descriptiveness, the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board recently affirmed a refusal to register Sheet Pile, LLC’s (“Applicant”) mark ZPILE on the Principal Register, on the...more
The Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (TTAB) has reiterated that there is no “strict or bright-line rule against registration of characters.” The case is In re Joseph A. Stallard, 2023 USPQ2d 1009 (TTAB 2023)....more
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
The US Patent and Trademark Office’s (USPTO’S) Trademark Trial and Appeal Board has ruled that the “doctrine of foreign equivalents” is a guideline rather than an absolute rule and may not apply to trademarks that combine...more
The US Patent & Trademark Office Trademark Trial & Appeal Board found that a consumer did not have standing to oppose an application for registration because the consumer failed to establish a commercial interest and injury...more
“File:200126 Lizzo on the 2020 Grammys Red Carpet.png” by Cosmopolitan UK is licensed under CC BY 3.0. The Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (TTAB) has approved the trademark registration of“100% THAT BITCH” by the musical...more
An application to register US SPACE FORCE as a trademark crashed at the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (TTAB) of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (PTO) when the TTAB ruled that the mark caused a false suggestion of a...more
As college freshmen head to campus for the start of classes, there is one vital campus bookstore purchase before classes begin: a T-shirt bearing the college’s logo. This purchase is not only a rite of passage for freshmen;...more
In a precedential decision, the Trademark Trial & Appeal Board (Board) granted two opposers’ motions for partial judgment on their claim of false suggestion of a connection under Section 2(a) of the Trademark Act based on a...more
In a recent precedential1 opinion, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office’s Trademark Trial and Appeal Board affirmed the refusal to register Jasmin Larian, LLC’s handbag design mark for “handbags” in Class 18, on the grounds...more
Thank you for reading the July 2022 issue of Sterne Kessler's MarkIt to Market® newsletter. This month, we discuss a recent precedential TTAB decision regarding product configuration marks. We also highlight recent...more
Future Intentions Not Enough to Pave the Road to Registration - “Reduces pain,” “alleviates anxiety,” “improves sleep” – these are just some of the claims of the miraculous CBD. The surfeit of new CBD brands and products...more
The September 2021 issue of Sterne Kessler's MarkIt to Market® newsletter discusses a recent non-precedential Trademark Trial and Appeal Board decision regarding intent-to-use applications covering CBD products currently...more
Global fashion brand Nine West recently filed a Notice of Opposition with the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board contesting the registration of the mark “Nina West” by a company owned by Andrew Levitt, drag name Nina West...more
In this week’s episode of The Briefing by the IP Law Blog, Scott Hervey and Josh Escovedo discuss a legal dispute between the Prince estate and an Ohio-based winery over the rights to the trademark “Purple Rain.”...more
In today’s world, e-commerce and online visibility are sine qua non for success. Businesses are willing to invest considerable sums to boost their online presence and maximize sales. Because of this digitalization of...more
The TTAB has affirmed a refusal to register the trade dress configuration mark (see below) of the popular Timberland boot, a wardrobe staple in hip-hop culture (see The World is Yours by Nas), stating the configuration failed...more
National Collegiate Athletic Association v. Virginia Urology Center, P.C. - (TTAB Proceeding No.: 92076376) - The National Collegiate Athletic Association, better known as the NCAA, filed a petition before the...more
On March 5, 2021, the U.S. Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (“TTAB”) issued a precedential decision affirming refusal of SolarWindow Technologies, Inc.’s application to register the word mark POWERCOATINGS. The decision is a...more
On December 27, 2020, President Trump signed the bipartisan COVID-19 relief and government funding bill which includes the Trademark Modernization Act of 2020 (TMA). The TMA, which will become effective in one year,...more
The September 2020 issue of Sterne Kessler's MarkIt to Market® newsletter discusses the state of the CBD industry, including a recent non-precedential TTAB decision regarding CBD-infused supplements, as well as the open gTLD...more
The United States Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (TTAB) recently affirmed a refusal to register a trademark for “hemp oil extracts” when used as an ingredient in dietary supplements, finding that the applicant could not...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 U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (“USPTO”) currently offers a pilot program that provides parties the opportunity to engage in expedited non-use cancellation proceedings. Broadly speaking, cancellation proceedings allow...more