Nonprofit Basics: Grant Agreements—Matching Grants, IP, Recoverable Grants & More
The Briefing: Trademark Basics - Protecting Names, Logos, and Brands in Entertainment
The Rise of OTAs in Defense Contracting: Opportunities, Risks, and What Contractors Need to Know
Money-Saving Licensing Tips for Startups
PODCAST: Williams Mullen's Trending Now: An IP Podcast - Cease and Desist Letters: Protecting Your Intellectual Property the Right Way
PODCAST: PODCAST: Williams Mullen's Trending Now: An IP Podcast - Cease and Desist Letters: Protecting Your Intellectual Property the Right Way
A Counterintuitive Approach to Winning Without Litigation: One-on-One with Haley Morrison
SkadBytes Podcast | Tech’s Shifting Landscape: Five Trends Shaping the Conversation
Tips for Conducting a Trade Secret Assessment with Rob Jensen
Will I Get Sued if I Create Another Hospital Drama? — No Infringement Intended Podcast
Essential Steps to Sell Your Business
Mickey Mouse: un ratón con abogado
(Podcast) The Briefing: The Ninth Circuit Puts the Brakes on Eleanor’s Copyright Claim
The Briefing: The Ninth Circuit Puts the Brakes on Eleanor’s Copyright Claim
Unexpected Paths to IP Law with Dan Young and Colin White
Why Can't I Clean the Graffiti Off My Walls? — No Infringement Intended Podcast
(Podcast) The Briefing: Trademark Smoked: The Fall of General Cigar’s COHIBA Registration
The Briefing: Trademark Smoked: The Fall of General Cigar’s COHIBA Registration
PODCAST: Williams Mullen's Trending Now: An IP Podcast - NCAA Name, Image, Likeness (NIL) Update – Effects of House Settlement
Scam notices are being sent to those who have filed trademark applications with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) or already own a registered mark. The notices are designed to exploit publicly available...more
It is a basic tenet of trademark law that rights are jurisdictional. Trademark owners only have rights in the mark in the jurisdictions in which they have registered (or, in some cases, used) the mark....more
On April 1, 2025, long-awaited amendments to Canada’s Trademarks Act and Trademarks Regulations will come into force. The purpose of the amendments is to discourage abuse of Canada’s trademarks regime and to improve the...more
The UK Supreme Court has issued a landmark judgment dealing with specific bad faith considerations for trade marks....more
Trademark lawyers are often asked: “What’s the difference between a trademark and a service mark?” In general, a trademark refers to a brand name used in connection with goods, while a service mark is one that is used in...more
As a trademark applicant, encountering a prior registration that obstructs your path to registration is never a pleasant experience (nor for your attorneys who have to inform you about it). The frustration only intensifies...more
2023 was an active year in Canadian trademark law. Canadian Courts addressed a wide range of issues, from licensing to comparative advertising to co-branding. Notable changes also emerged from the Canadian Trademarks...more
In a significant decision, the Federal Circuit has clarified the weight given to third-party registrations in determining the strength of the opposer’s mark and has firmly placed the burden of showing non-use of such marks on...more
In Spireon, Inc. v. Flex Ltd., No. 2022-1578 (Fed. Cir. June 26, 2023), the Federal Circuit took a surprising turn in which it held that it is the trademark owner’s burden to prove that identical third-party marks put forth...more
After years of uncertainty, the USPTO has finally provided insight on how it views applications for cannabis-related marks, suggesting that the use of such marks will be heavily scrutinized. In 2016, National Concession...more
In January of this year, the China National Intellectual Property Administration (CNIPA) published its draft 5th Amendment to the Chinese Trademark Law (a translated version is posted...) The proposed amendments would...more
There is a little-known provision of the Lanham Act (the US Trademark Act) that packs a potentially big punch. 15 USC § 1051(e) provides that if a non-U.S. entity registers for a trademark in the United States without...more
On 13 January 2023, the China National Intellectual Property Administration (“CNIPA”) published draft amendments to the PRC Trademark Law for public comment. This Draft marks the fifth time that the PRC Trademark Law is up...more
A trademark is any word, phrase, symbol, design, or combination of these things that identifies a single source for certain products or services. Trademarks identify the source of certain products or services, provide legal...more
Can a United States court really award tens of millions of dollars in damages for violation of US trademark law under the Lanham Act where the conduct at issue did not even take place in the United States? According to a...more
The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (“USPTO”) has received more than 170 petitions for expungement and reexamination since it began accepting these new filings late last year. And although the Office has issued guidance...more
Graduates of The Ohio State University (“Ohio State”) are familiar with fans and supporters (and sometimes, Michigan fans) placing an emphasis on the “THE” when saying the school’s name. But the United States Patent and...more
The Federal Court of Canada, in a May 2022 decision,1 has ordered a B.C. man’s trademark registration to be expunged for “bad faith” after finding it was filed solely for the purpose of resale. This is the first decision in...more
As the metaverse continues to become a more established marketplace, and consumers become more familiar with non-fungible tokens (NFTs), NFT marketplaces, decentralized domains, bitcoin, crypto wallets and the blockchain, it...more
The Trademark Modernization Act (“TMA”) was signed into law on December 27, 2020. Among other things, the TMA created new procedures for challenging pending applications and registrations and updated several rules relating to...more
Revisiting jurisprudence touching on the Lanham Act and the First Amendment from the Supreme Court’s decisions in Matal v. Tam and Iancu v. Brunetti, the US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit held that applying Sec....more
2021 offered many lessons to Canadian trademark owners including: reminders of the challenges of enforcing inherently weak trademarks and the importance and benefits of registering IP rights at the Canadian border. As well,...more
China has been speeding up its legislative efforts in protecting trademark rights and improving its trademark administration. In 2021, China issued a number of new rules and regulations on trademark practice....more
On Monday, May 3, 2021, the Canadian Trademarks Office published two new Practice Notices with respect to Requests for expedited examination and Measures to improve timeliness in examination intended to improve delays in the...more
On December 27, 2020, the Trademark Modernization Act of 2020 (“the Act”) became law as part of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021. Among other changes, the Act includes important amendments to the Lanham Act...more