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CAFC Trademark Trial and Appeal Board United States Patent and Trademark Office

Miller Nash LLP

Denied, but Not Defeated! F-Bomb Still in Play as Federal Circuit Breathes New Life Into Old Words

Miller Nash LLP on

Last week, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit came out with its decision in In Re Brunetti, which sheds new light on whether widely used commonplace words can ever become registered trademarks. ...more

McDermott Will & Schulte

When is a word too common to trademark? Asking for a four-letter friend

In response to artist and entrepreneur Erik Brunetti’s ongoing efforts to register FUCK as a trademark for various goods and services, the US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit vacated the Trademark Trial & Appeal...more

Bradley Arant Boult Cummings LLP

Earmuffs, Kids: The Federal Circuit Delivers the F-bomb Right Back to the TTAB

The Federal Circuit’s recent precedential decision in In re Erik Brunetti has surely raised some eyebrows in the trademark community (and beyond), not just for its subject matter (the attempted registration of a certain...more

International Lawyers Network

Can Non-English Language Trademarks Be Refused Registration Based on the Foreign Equivalents Doctrine?

Suppose that you want to register your trademark that is in a non-English language on goods or services for your business in the United States. Will your non-English language trademark need to be translated to English to...more

McDermott Will & Schulte

No Green Light to Register Color Mark for Medical Gloves

Addressing for the first time the test for determining whether a color mark is generic, the US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit adopted the Trademark Trial & Appeal Board’s Milwaukee test as the appropriate standard,...more

ArentFox Schiff

It’s Not Easy Being Green (If You Are a Color Trademark for Medical Gloves)

ArentFox Schiff on

In refusing registration of the color green for “chloroprene medical examination gloves,” the Federal Circuit adopted — for the first time — a legal test for genericness of color marks. The decision underscores the high...more

Sterne, Kessler, Goldstein & Fox P.L.L.C.

TTAB Upholds Reputation Outside of U.S. as Ground for Opposition

In the recent precedential decision Plumrose Holding Ltd. v. USA Ham LLC, Opposition No. 91272970 (January 17, 2025), the U.S. Trademark Trial and Appeal Board found that an Opposer had standing to challenge registration of a...more

Fox Rothschild LLP

Supreme Court Rejects TRUMP TOO SMALL Trademark

Fox Rothschild LLP on

“TRUMP TOO SMALL”- This is the trademark that Steve Elster has been trying to get registered for the past six years since filing his trademark application all the way back in January 2018, during the Trump presidency. Since...more

Fox Rothschild LLP

The Federal Circuit Deals Another Blow to the Lanham Act, Finding Section 2(c) Unconstitutional as Applied to a Refusal to...

Fox Rothschild LLP on

Last week, the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit (“CAFC”) reversed a TTAB decision affirming a refusal to register the phrase TRUMP TOO SMALL because it “comprises the name of [former] President Donald...more

White and Williams LLP

Winter COVID-19 Relief Bill: Overview of Key IP and Entertainment Provisions

Congress passed The Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021 (Act) on December 21, 2020 and the Act was signed into law by President Trump on December 27, 2020. Though titled as COVID relief, the Act includes sweeping changes to...more

ArentFox Schiff

A New Shade of Protectability

ArentFox Schiff on

The US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit recently ruled that color marks can be inherently distinctive when applied to product packaging trade dress. The CAFC upends a long-held understanding that color marks can never...more

Stoel Rives LLP

Filing a New ITU Trademark Application? Be Prepared to Prove Your Intent

Stoel Rives LLP on

Staking an early claim to a brand has inspired many hasty (and sometimes ill-advised) trademark applications. For example, trademark applications representing political rallying cries and pop culture slogans such as JE SUIS...more

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