The Briefing by the IP Law Blog: Navigating the Hazy Intersection of Cannabis Law & Trademarks
The Ninth Circuit issued two opinions in BBK Tobacco & Foods LLP v. Central Coast Agriculture, Inc. finding judicial power over pending trademark applications and an exception shielding trademark registrations for marks used...more
The phrase “make your mark on history” is a commonplace one with several meanings and connotations. It is one offered at many high school and college commencement speeches as an exhortation to graduates to have an impact...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
Suppose that you want to register a trademark that incorporates a name of a person to identify the source of goods or services for your business. Should you register your trademark with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office...more
Slovenian-born Luka Doncic became a professional basketball player at the young age of sixteen years old and the towering height of 6’7”. He quickly made a name for himself, leading his Spanish team Real Madrid to the...more
Generic terms—terms that are primarily understood to be the name of a product or service—cannot be trademarks. For example, one cannot register APPLE as a trademark for (you guessed it) apples. When a trademark becomes...more
As those involved in the world of trademark law likely know, the United States Patent and Trademark Office (“USPTO”) publishes an immensely helpful Manual covering the practices and procedures of prosecuting or registering...more
The US Patent & Trademark Office (PTO) recently issued Examination Guide 1-22, Clarification of Examination Evidentiary Standard for Marks Refused as Generic (Guide 1-22), which amends the PTO’s stance on the appropriate...more
Another person or entity has applied for a trademark at the United States Patent and Trademark Office (the “USPTO”) that is similar to your trademark. What can you do? One option is to institute an opposition with the...more
ICYMI, a new Trademark Manual of Examining Procedure (TMEP) was released by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) last month. The July 2021 revision replaces and supersedes the October 2018 version, and it...more
USPTO Leadership - ..Drew Hirshfeld is still performing the functions and duties of Director. The Biden Administration has not made an announcement as to who will be nominated to become the next Director....more
Weintraub Tobin IP attorneys Scott Hervey and Josh Escovedo discuss Josh's post on the IP Law Blog "Navigating the Hazy Intersection of Federal and State Law on Cannabis and Advising Clients on Protecting Their Trademarks." ...more
In IBSA Institut Biochimique v. Teva Pharmaceuticals USA, Inc. a valuable lesson was learned about relying on a translation of a non-English patent application. The IBSA Institut Biochimique (IBSAIB) hired an Italian patent...more
What was once illegal is now a thriving industry. That’s right—I’m talking about cannabis. But my initial statement isn’t entirely accurate. Although Alaska, California, Colorado, Illinois, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan,...more
In a precedential decision earlier this month, the TTAB found that a disclaimer of a term is required as to all services in a Class if it is descriptive as to any services in that Class. This decision appears to contravene...more
U.S. trademark owners must file regular maintenance documentation with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (“USPTO”) to show that the owner is still using its trademark “in commerce” during the period leading up to the...more
Who doesn’t love a secret menu, where one discovers delicious off-menu favorites and savors them along with the pleasure of feeling in the know? We’ll let you in on a “secret menu” of sorts for trademarks. A little known area...more
The United States Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (TTAB) recently refused registration to two trademark applications for cannabis and marijuana vaporizers, finding no bona fide intent to lawfully use the marks in commerce...more
According to the USPTO Commissioner of Trademarks, the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) has seen a significant increase in the number of applicants who are not fulfilling their legal and ethical obligations...more
We recently posted about the U.S. Supreme Court’s June 24th holding in Iancu v. Brunetti, which upheld a ruling that the Lanham Act’s bar on the registration of scandalous or immoral marks is unconstitutional because it...more
A trademark is a word, phrase, symbol, design, color, sound, or a combination thereof, that serves to identify the source of goods or services from those of another. Questions frequently arise about how trademarks should be...more
Suppose that you want to register a trademark that identifies a source of goods or services for your business. What if the trademark describes a geographical area such as eastern? Should you register your trademark with the...more
When examining trademark applications, the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) considers whether the applied-for mark is confusingly similar to any registered or prior-filed marks by applying the following...more
The landmark case, Matal v. Tam, forever altered the innocence of the trademark landscape. The case, interestingly enough, involved a musical group wanting to trademark a seemingly disparaging mark. ...more
Hello loyal TMCA readers – This is the first installment of what we hope to be an informative series of posts called Quirky Questions: TMCA Edition. Our labor and employment colleagues have a great blog, Quirky Questions,...more