The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit held that the test for determining whether a word mark is generic also applies to color marks....more
Color trademarks have traditionally been difficult to obtain. Of the over 4 million trademark registrations, there were less than 1000 color trademarks as of 2019. To be eligible for trademark registration, a color must have...more
CeramTec v. Coorstek Bioceramics, Case No. 2023-1502 (Fed. Cir. Jan. 3, 2025) - Colors are generally permitted as source identifiers for trademarks or trade dress because they are typically perceived as an ornamental...more
The Trademark Trial and Appeal Board’s (Board) precedential decision to uphold a refusal to register a proposed color mark in In re Post Foods, LLC highlights the strategic and technical aspects involved in registering a...more
Every month, Erise’s trademark attorneys review the latest developments at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, in the courts, and across the corporate world to bring you the stories that you should know about: Fruity...more
Happy New Year! We’re excited to share the January 2022 issue of Sterne Kessler's MarkIt to Market® newsletter in a newly updated format. This month’s articles discuss the Pantone Color Institute's 2022 Color of the Year –...more
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
In a precedential decision on August 22 2017, the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (TTAB) in In re General Mills IP Holdings II, LLC (Serial 86757390) held that the applicant did not provide sufficient evidence to support the...more