The US Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit reversed and remanded a district court’s ruling, holding that the Lanham Act does not foreclose an Administrative Procedure Act (APA) action for judicial review of the US Patent...more
What is the difference between a traditional trademark and trade dress protection? Traditional Trademarks - According to the USPTO - A trademark can be any word, phrase, symbol, design, or a combination of these things...more
The Tennessee ABC liquor-by-the-drink application and renewal applications ask in Question 15: "Do you intend at any point during the next license year to produce, store, sell or offer for sale infusions as that term is...more
In theory, trademarks can last “forever.” Unlike copyrights and patents, which have finite durations defined by law, a trademark can last as long as its owner maintains it and continues to use it. As the US Patent and...more
In our previous post, we discussed the importance of front-end intellectual property (IP) protection and seeking legal counsel to help build out a strategy to best navigate the intricate IP landscape. We delved into the...more
On September 15, 2021, the United States District Court for the District of South Carolina imposed significant penalties on a defendant who defrauded thousands of trademark registration holders. The imposition of such...more
It’s over. After all the cliffhangers, the United Kingdom has finally left the European Union. Who keeps the house? Who has to buy a new sofa? Brexit may not mean much to the average American, but if you do business in...more
On August 28, 2019, the United States Patent and Trademark Office (“USPTO”) announced proposed changes to increase fees for a number of trademark-related matters. The new fee schedule will go into effect in August 2020, if...more
Trademark scams are on the rise. Over the past year, Sullivan has seen a significant increase in the number of clients who have received misleading solicitations and invoices relating to their trademarks. Every brand...more
Under Myanmar’s new law, any existing Cautionary Notices must be refiled as trademark applications within the first few months of 2020 or risk losing their priority....more
Your intellectual property (IP) is, of course, valuable to your business, and you have likely taken appropriate steps to maximize the legal protection for those assets. The most common form of protecting your company name,...more
In an August 2017 article titled “Don’t be duped by the trademark solicitation,” we warned you about misleading solicitations from private companies to renew your trademark registrations and provide other trademark-related...more
On June 17, 2019, Canada’s Trademarks Act changed, resulting in its modernization. Canada has now joined five international intellectual property treaties, including the Madrid Protocol, Singapore Treaty and Nice Agreement,...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
In this two-part series, we will discuss important strategies to consider before Canadian trademark law changes on June 17, 2019, including tips that could save you and your clients time and money, now and in the future....more
The beginning of 2019 brought some notable amendments to Korea’s intellectual property rights guidelines. On the trademark side, effective January 1, 2019, Korea’s Trademark Examination Guidelines were amended to include...more
After five years of uncertainty and speculation, a date has been set for Canada’s drastic new trademark laws to come into force. Five months from today, on June 17, 2019, brand owners and local, national and global companies...more
Federal trademark registrations are an extremely valuable asset to any company’s intellectual property portfolio. With an emerging trend of private companies sending misleading trademark renewal notices that appear official...more
As trade talks between Canada and the United States dominate the headlines, it is hard to ignore the strong economic ties between these neighbouring nations. For example, the total volume of goods exported from the U.S. in to...more
At some point in time, most trademark registrants will receive an official-looking invoice from a so-called “trademark registration service” that purports to require payment of a fee to maintain the trademark registration....more
In our last article, we explained trademark filings for showing continuous use of a mark. This third article in our trademark series explains renewal applications and practical suggestions for the trademark owner to avoid...more