In a precedential decision, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit recently blessed the test used by the U.S. Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (TTAB) for denying registration to PT Medisafe Technologies for a...more
6/19/2025
/ Color Marks ,
Generic Marks ,
Lanham Act ,
Patent Trial and Appeal Board ,
Precedential Opinion ,
Trade Dress ,
Trademark Application ,
Trademark Litigation ,
Trademark Registration ,
Trademarks ,
USPTO
In a rare precedential decision involving Section 2(a) of the Lanham Act, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit recently upheld a denial by the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (TTAB) of applications filed for US...more
5/15/2025
/ Appeals ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Intent-to-Use ,
Lanham Act ,
Precedential Opinion ,
Statutory Interpretation ,
Trademark Application ,
Trademark Litigation ,
Trademark Registration ,
Trademark Trial and Appeal Board ,
Trademarks ,
USPTO
In yet another recent example of the need for care in establishing a full record when appealing the denial of a trademark application, on April 14, 2025, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit upheld the denial of...more
In a rare case involving an admitted error by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, on February 20, 2025, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit upheld the denial of Agadia Systems Inc.’s application for...more
When, if ever, is it okay to use a trademark in U.S. commerce that is identical to another company’s mark used outside the U.S.? Courts have struggled with this issue for years, and the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office...more
2/3/2025
/ Foreign Trademark ,
Intellectual Property Protection ,
Jurisdiction ,
Lanham Act ,
Likelihood of Confusion ,
Popular ,
Precedential Opinion ,
Trademark Infringement ,
Trademark Litigation ,
Trademark Registration ,
Trademark Trial and Appeal Board ,
Trademarks ,
USPTO
Effective January 18, 2025, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) will implement a new fee schedule for trademark filings. ...more
Trademark owners often receive advice from counsel about registering their marks for core goods and services. And many times, that is all that budgets initially allow for....more
Cannabis is a rapidly growing industry; in 2019, overall sales of cannabis products legal under state law were estimated to be worth $13.6 billion, with an expected increase to $29.7 billion by 2025. While marijuana remains a...more
12/3/2020
/ Cannabidiol (CBD) oil ,
Cannabis Products ,
Controlled Substances ,
Cosmetics ,
Dietary Supplements ,
Food and Drug Administration (FDA) ,
Intellectual Property Protection ,
Marijuana ,
Marijuana Related Businesses ,
Patent Litigation ,
Patents ,
Popular ,
Trademark Registration ,
Trademarks ,
USPTO
Unlike in most countries, in the United States trademark registrations are supposed to reflect marks actually in use in commerce. Trademark rights in the U.S. are earned through use, not simply purchased. Nonetheless, there...more
U.S. trademark practitioners have long dealt with the issue of applicants, either deliberately or innocently, claiming use of a mark with a far broader scope of goods than is actually the case. This results in a “bloat” of...more
After a few of either, the likelihood of confusion may no doubt increase. But in a recent sober judgment, the U.S. Trademark Office ruled that REUBEN’S BREWS for beer is not likely to be confused with RUBENS for wine....more
In a case divorced from the usual battle over priority of use of a mark, the U.S. Trademark Office has just cancelled a Supplemental Registration for the mark MEN’S DIVORCE based on a challenge by the prior user of MEN’S...more