The US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit affirmed the Trademark Trial & Appeal Board’s refusal to register the mark VETEMENTS for clothing and related retail services, finding that the mark was generic under the...more
On July 31, 2024, a bipartisan group of US senators introduced the Nurture Originals, Foster Art, and Keep Entertainment Safe (NO FAKES) Act of 2024 to protect the voice and visual likeness rights of individuals from...more
The increasing sophistication of generative artificial intelligence (AI) has had widespread effects on fields ranging from art and film to law and healthcare. The implications for copyright law principles, such as authorship,...more
9/15/2023
/ Algorithms ,
Artificial Intelligence ,
Authorship ,
Comment Period ,
Copyright ,
Copyright Infringement ,
Copyright Office ,
Fair Use ,
Intellectual Property Protection ,
Machine Learning ,
Public Comment ,
USPTO
The Supreme Court agreed to review the US Patent & Trademark Office’s (PTO) challenge to a February 2022 ruling by the US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. In the ruling at issue, the Federal Circuit held that...more
In 2023, we believe that intellectual property issues in relation to the metaverse, blockchain technologies and crypto assets will continue to be an important focus for brand owners and for businesses entering or expanding...more
The US Patent & Trademark Office (PTO) denied registration of several US trademark applications for the mark FUCK, even though the applicant had overcome a prohibition on the registration of “immoral or scandalous” trademarks...more
The Trademark Trial & Appeal Board (Board) issued a precedential decision affirming the US Patent & Trademark Office (PTO) Examining Attorney’s refusal to register two different logo marks filed by southern California’s...more
Ending a hard-fought three-year campaign to secure registration of a popular handbag, the US Patent & Trademark Office (PTO) Trademark Trial & Appeal Board designated as precedential its decision refusing registration of the...more
The US Patent & Trademark Office (PTO) continues to uphold its promise to combat fraud and “protect the integrity of the U.S. trademark register” with initiatives to investigate and sanction actions before the PTO that appear...more
KEY TAKEAWAYS AND OUTLOOK FOR 2022 -
While Gen Z taught us all on TikTok how not to be “cheugy,” or out of touch with pop culture, similarly, trademark law in 2021 ushered in new and changed regulations, provided further...more
For the second time, the US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit examined the standard for demonstrating fraud in a party’s claim of a trademark’s acquired distinctiveness for purposes of registration under Section 2(f)...more
As reported by the US Patent & Trademark Office (PTO) this past summer, since mid-2020 trademark applications from US and foreign applicants have “surged to unprecedented levels.” In December 2020 alone, the PTO received...more
2020 was a year like no other, so you’d be forgiven if the year’s biggest headlines in trademark law didn’t quite catch your attention. In 2020, the US Supreme Court shaped trademark jurisprudence through a trio of notable...more
1/22/2021
/ Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Counterfeiting ,
Economic Stimulus ,
Electronic Filing ,
Enforcement ,
Fraud ,
Injunctive Relief ,
Lanham Act ,
New Legislation ,
Online Marketplace ,
SCOTUS ,
Trademark Ownership ,
Trademark Registration ,
Trademarks ,
USPTO
Effective January 2, 2021, the United States Patent and Trademark Office (“USPTO”) is increasing and adding certain trademark and Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (“TTAB”) fees. The changes come after a nearly three-year fee...more
In the midst of an unprecedented and unsettling global pandemic, one constant remains: certain entrepreneurial-minded folks will not miss the opportunity to file trademark applications for new “brands” that align with the...more
Reviewing a decision from the United States Patent and Trademark Office (“USPTO”) Trademark Trial and Appeal Board, the Federal Circuit vacated and remanded the Board’s refusal to register a trademark consisting of a gradient...more
Relying on Supreme Court precedent, the Federal Circuit overturned the USPTO’s refusal to register a multi-color trademark for product packaging, holding that color marks can be inherently distinctive depending upon the...more
Trademark jurisprudence in 2019 may be best summarized in two words: questions and answers. Decisions handed down at the district court level have teed up key questions that are poised to be answered by the United States...more
In a 6–3 opinion, the Supreme Court of the United States affirmed a 2017 US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit decision holding the ban on registration of immoral or scandalous trademarks under the Lanham Act to be an...more
8/5/2019
/ Appeals ,
Constitutional Challenges ,
First Amendment ,
Free Speech ,
Iancu v. Brunetti ,
Lanham Act ,
Reaffirmation ,
Reversal ,
Scandalous/Immoral Marks ,
SCOTUS ,
Trademark Registration ,
Trademarks ,
USPTO ,
Viewpoint Discrimination
A 6-3 opinion from the Supreme Court of the United States in Iancu v. Brunetti affirmed a Federal Circuit 2017 decision. Both rulings found the ban on the registration of immoral or scandalous trademarks under the Lanham Act...more
6/27/2019
/ Appeals ,
Constitutional Challenges ,
First Amendment ,
Free Speech ,
Iancu v. Brunetti ,
Lanham Act ,
Reaffirmation ,
Reversal ,
Scandalous/Immoral Marks ,
SCOTUS ,
Trademark Registration ,
Trademarks ,
USPTO ,
Viewpoint Discrimination
Affirming the district court’s summary judgment ruling on the protectability of the trademark BOOKING.COM, the US Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit weighed in on the somewhat controversial issue of the genericness of a...more
Following the Supreme Court of the United States’ 2017 decision in Matal v. Tam (i.e., the Slants case) finding the proscription on the registration of disparaging trademarks under § 2(a) of the Lanham Act to be an...more
2/6/2018
/ Constitutional Challenges ,
Disparagement ,
First Amendment ,
Free Speech ,
Lanham Act ,
Matal v Tam ,
SCOTUS ,
The Slants ,
Trademark Registration ,
Trademark Trial and Appeal Board ,
Trademarks ,
USPTO
In an 8–0 decision, the Supreme Court of the United States affirmed an en banc panel of the US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit and found the disparagement clause of the Lanham Act to be facially unconstitutional...more
7/11/2017
/ Constitutional Challenges ,
Disparagement ,
First Amendment ,
Free Speech ,
Lanham Act ,
Matal v Tam ,
Music Industry ,
SCOTUS ,
The Slants ,
Trademark Registration ,
Trademark Trial and Appeal Board ,
Trademarks ,
USPTO
A unanimous decision from the Supreme Court of the United States in Matal v. Tam affirmed an en banc panel of the Federal Circuit and found the disparagement clause of the Lanham Act to be facially unconstitutional under the...more
6/22/2017
/ Constitutional Challenges ,
Disparagement ,
First Amendment ,
Free Speech ,
Lanham Act ,
Matal v Tam ,
SCOTUS ,
The Slants ,
Trademark Registration ,
Trademark Trial and Appeal Board ,
Trademarks ,
USPTO
In Depth -
In efforts to enhance the US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) electronic filing system and to “assess and promote the accuracy and integrity of the trademark register,” the USPTO has ushered in changes that...more