Benny and Rafi Fine, also known as the Fine Brothers, are well-known YouTube® content producers – they publish videos that show groups of people watching and reacting to things. Some recent examples include Elders React to...more
Earlier this month, Macy's won a ruling against a company that revives out-of-use, but well-known brands. Strategic Marks LLC is in the business of reviving abandoned brands, sometimes referred to as "zombie" brands, using...more
The February issue of Sterne Kessler's MarkIt to MarketTM newsletter discusses the trademark implications of so-called "zombie" brands, examines Reddit reactions to the Fine Brothers' attempts to register and monetize the...more
The start of a new year is a natural time to audit your company's brand assets to make sure they are being appropriately used and protected. These audits can take different forms, but the core analysis involves a review of...more
The beginning of a new year is often the impetus for change. For companies, this may mean a rebranding initiative involving an update to a company's house mark or logo. In 2015 several companies, including Google, Facebook,...more
2/23/2016
/ Corporate Branding ,
Equivalency Determinations ,
Facebook ,
Goodwill ,
Google ,
IHOP ,
Logos ,
Tacking ,
Trademark Registration ,
Trademark Trial and Appeal Board ,
Trademarks
The January issue of Sterne Kessler's MarkIt to MarketTM newsletter discusses best practices for companies seeking to refresh or rebrand in 2016, outlines the top three considerations for companies conducting a...more
In a recent (non-precedential) decision , the TTAB refused to register the mark MEAT CANDY as being merely descriptive of Applicant's restaurant services. To anyone who is not a meat connoisseur, a 2(e)(1) refusal seems to be...more
The December issue of Sterne Kessler's MarkIt to Market TM newsletter discusses key takeaways as a result of a recent TTAB case in which a trademark was found to be laudatory, sends seasons greetings from the firm, and...more
The Wall Street Journal recently reported the spike in e-book sales of Alison Waines' two-year-old novel, Girl on a Train. The cause? Apparently, some customers thought they were purchasing The New York Times' best seller...more
The November issue of Sterne Kessler's MarkIt to MarketTM newsletter discusses how authors can better protect titles of creative works in the U.S., outlines seven best practices for social media marketers seeking to quickly...more
Brand owners seeking federal protection for their service marks from the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office ("USPTO") often struggle with how to define their services in the application.
While the Trademark Act defines...more
For a mobile application developer, clearing the Apple® App Store's® often lengthy approval process and seeing the mobile application available for purchase may seem like the last necessary step to establish use of the name...more
The October issue of Sterne Kessler's MarkIt to MarketTM newsletter discusses use in commerce as applied to mobile applications and services, outlines best practices for ensuring your business owns artwork and textual works...more
In years past, "wearable technology" was pretty much limited to wristwatches and miners' headlamps. Today, wearable technology is one of the fastest growing segments in the technology marketplace. Countless consumer products...more
As you may have heard, the USPTO has commenced a pilot program to allow, under limited circumstances, amendments to identifications of goods/services in trademark registrations to account for evolving technology. Amendments...more
The September issue of Sterne Kessler's MarkIt to Market™ newsletter discusses considerations when filing a petition under the USPTO pilot program, outlines what you should know when protecting a trademark for wearable...more
Wherever we look, trademarks are getting smaller. From app icons to college stickers on cars, brands are shrinking as the competition for consumers' attention grows more fierce. A few years ago, parents proudly displayed...more
Consent agreements - in which a prior U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) rights-holder provides consent to registration of a later-filed trademark - can be an efficient path to registration in situations where the...more
The August issue of Sterne Kessler's MarkIt to MarketTM newsletter discusses consent agreements and how to avoid naked consent, suggests 5 steps for protecting shrinking trademarks, and provides an updated list of the Sunrise...more
As first reported in our December 2013 newsletter, the first new generic top-level domains (gTLDs, the group of letters after the "dot" in a domain name) have launched their "Sunrise" registration periods. Please contact us...more
The July issue of Sterne Kessler's MarkIt to MarketTM newsletter explains why two pronged protection is the best approach for product configuration, discusses the importance of coordination between legal and marketing...more
As first reported in our December 2013 newsletter, the first new generic top-level domains (gTLDs, the group of letters after the "dot" in a domain name) have launched their "Sunrise" registration periods. Please contact us...more
Canada has amended its Trademark Law, and although the amended Law's effective date is not yet known, brand owners can expect three significant changes to Canadian trademark law practice.
First, to U.S. brand owners...more
The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) recently issued a final rule codifying current USPTO practice relating to certification marks.
Certification marks are used by authorized users to indicate the following:...more
In This Issue:
- Hashtag Trademarks: #ItsAllAboutTheUse
- Upcoming Changes in Canadian Trade Mark Trademark Law
- Changes in U.S Certification Mark Requirements
- gTLD Sunrise Periods Now Open
- The...more