This year, the INTA Annual Meeting lands in sunny San Diego, California—a city known not only for its breathtaking coastline, laid-back vibe, and rich cultural diversity, but also for its dynamic landscape of iconic brands...more
The INTA Annual Meeting is here! As one of the largest gatherings of trademark professionals from around the world, the INTA Annual Meeting offers opportunities for networking, education, and collaboration. Against the...more
5/20/2024
/ Consumer Confusion ,
Copyright ,
Intellectual Property Litigation ,
Intellectual Property Protection ,
Right of Publicity ,
Trade Secrets ,
Trademark Cancellation ,
Trademark Ownership ,
Trademark Trial and Appeal Board ,
Trademarks ,
USPTO
With “spooky season” dominating October holiday talk, it’s easy to forget poor old National Apple Day or simply Apple Day, which took place last Saturday and is observed every October 21. According to Wikipedia, one can...more
March 8 was, according to questionable sources, National Retro Video Game Day in the US. As one of Foley Hoag’s several resident video game nerds, this reminded me of one of my favorite video-game-related IP disputes...more
Benjamin Franklin famously said that “nothing in this world can be said to be certain, except death, taxes, and the entrepreneurial spirit of Americans to turn a crisis into a business opportunity.” That quote may not be...more
The general rule of thumb for trademarks in the U.S. – and everywhere else, for that matter – is “the earlier, the better.” It’s almost always the right move to file a trademark application as early as possible, and well in...more
In anticipation of our visit to Chicago next week for the Intellectual Property Owners Association’s Annual Meeting, we took a tour through the USPTO’s trademark database in search of Chicago-themed trademarks. Among marks...more
Over the past few years, we have seen numerous instances of companies protecting their trademarks in creative ways – approaches that leverage humor and the brands themselves in order to achieve an acceptable legal outcome...more
Over the past few years, we have seen numerous instances of companies protecting their trademarks in creative ways – approaches that leverage humor and the brands themselves in order to achieve an acceptable legal outcome...more
Over the past few years, we have seen numerous instances of companies protecting their trademarks in creative ways – approaches that leverage humor and the brands themselves in order to achieve an acceptable legal outcome...more
Over the past few years, we have seen numerous instances of companies protecting their trademarks in creative ways – approaches that leverage humor and the brands themselves in order to achieve an acceptable legal outcome...more
Readers of this blog are likely aware that trademark owners are required to actively monitor, police, and enforce their trademarks against infringement and misuse. Failure to do so can result in limitation of and, in the...more
January 2017 -
Happy holidays and welcome to the 2017 New Year edition of Trademark Red Tape, our periodic round-up of trademark news and happenings at the United States Patent & Trademark Office. Here are the...more
Our readers no doubt understand that trademark use is the basis for trademark protection in the U.S. But all use is not created equal, and sometimes it’s not so easy to tell whether a trademark is actually used in a manner...more
USPTO Red TapeRegular readers of the Trademark and Copyright Law Blog and our Trademark Red Tape™ column may recall our previous report on a pilot study by the United States Patent & Trademark Office (PTO) about...more
Disparaging Marks Still Held in Abeyance.
As an update to our last Trademark Red Tape, the USPTO, which has now filed a petition for a writ of certiorari to the Supreme Court in In re Tam with respect to the...more
6/7/2016
/ Administrative Procedure Act ,
Affidavits ,
Disparagement ,
Filing Fees ,
Free Speech ,
Lanham Act ,
NPRM ,
Petition for Writ of Certiorari ,
Protective Orders ,
Rules of Practice ,
Testimony ,
The Slants ,
Trademark Registration ,
Trademark Trial and Appeal Board ,
Trademarks ,
USPTO
Welcome to Trademark Red Tape, our periodic round-up of trademark news and happenings at the United States Patent & Trademark Office. Here are the highlights:
- A Time-Out for Offensive Trademarks. According to IP...more
Just as it is important for start-up companies to be mindful of early-stage trademark and copyright protection strategies (see our guides entitled “Trademark Strategies for Start-Up Companies” and “Copyright Strategies for...more
Imagine, for a moment, a successful software company, Agave, that owns the trademark PHOTOCHOPS for a popular image-editing program. Being a diligent trademark owner, Agave registered the trademark PHOTOCHOPS in 2005, right...more
I’m back from the International Trademark Association (INTA) Annual Meeting in beautiful (if a bit cloudy and windy) San Diego, which featured the usual array of client meetings, networking with counsel from around the world,...more
Yesterday marked the sunrise launch of the .porn and .adult generic top-level domains (gTLDs), which join .xxx in the top-level domain name space as gTLDs targeted mainly at online purveyors of adult entertainment. ...more
By now you’ve probably heard of Snapchat. But if you are not among its growing core base of users between 13 and 23 years of age (probably a good deal younger than you, constant reader) there’s a good chance you are not a...more
2/24/2015
/ Brand ,
Cyber Attacks ,
Cybersecurity ,
Cybersquatting ,
Data Breach ,
Data Protection ,
Domain Names ,
DreamHost ,
Hackers ,
Intellectual Property Litigation ,
Mobile Apps ,
Snapchat ,
Trademarks ,
UDRP ,
WIPO
Brewers, distillers, and vintners are no strangers to themed seasonal offerings, so it’s not surprising that Halloween brings out some decidedly decrepit monikers. From PUMPKINHEAD (think reaping) to NOSFERATU, WITCH’S WIT...more
Don’t read this one before bed.
As autumn sets in and Halloween approaches, my mind turns to jack-o-lanterns, skeletons, and phantoms. Phantom marks, that is. Equally incorporeal though perhaps somewhat less...more
As any IP lawyer will readily admit, trademark practice before the United States Patent & Trademark Office (PTO) comes with its fair share of annoyances: inconsistent treatment of similar applications, unreasonably stringent...more