The Director of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) has notified the Trademark Public Advisory Committee (TPAC) of the USPTO's intent to restructure existing trademark fees and released its preliminary trademark fee...more
The US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) has issued new guidelines effective December 3, 2022, changing the previous six month office action response period to three months. An extension of an additional three months can be...more
In the past week, the USPTO has implemented two new policies designed to better address how applicants and law firms work in 2022. Electronic Trademark Certificates - First, as of May 24, 2022, the USPTO has moved to...more
Thank you for reading the May 2022 issue of Sterne Kessler's MarkIt to Market® newsletter. This month, we discuss Spotify's exploration into NFTs, two new USPTO policies with practical implications for trademark applicants...more
If you recently filed a trademark application with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, you may have noticed that the average time to first action (initial examination) is about six months from the application’s filing date...more
The August 2021 issue of Sterne Kessler's MarkIt to Market® newsletter discusses Monster Energy's history of trademark disputes in the context of enhancing brand strength, tips for shortening the pendency of trademark filings...more
The United States Patent and Trademark Office (“USPTO”) has announced that, effective January 2, 2021, it is increasing certain fees it charges to file trademark applications, maintain trademark registrations, petition the...more
The United States Patent and Trademark Office ("USPTO") has announced increases and adjustments of certain trademark and Trademark Trial and Appeal Board ("TTAB") official fees, effective January 2, 2021. These changes follow...more
The USPTO has published the final rule in the Federal Register establishing fee increases for electronic filings related to Trademark applications and proceedings. The changes, which go into effect on January 2, 2021, are...more
On June 15, 2020, the United States Patent and Trademark Office (“USPTO”) announced a new COVID-19 prioritized examination program for trademark and service mark applications relating to goods and services useful for...more
Statistics from 2018 reveal that .03% of trademark applications were paper filed. As such, effective February 15, 2020, paper trademark filings are no longer an option. The United States Patent and Trademark Office ("USPTO")...more
Of particular interest, to receive a filing date after February 15, 2020, all new applications must include an email address for each applicant, even if represented by an attorney. In addition, all applicants, registrants,...more
On February 7, 2020, the U.S. Trademark Office issued long-anticipated guidelines governing electronic filing and electronic communications with attorneys and trademark owners. Effective February 15, 2020, these new rules...more