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
How IP Can Fuel Your Startup's Growth
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
In yet another recent example of the need for care in establishing a full record when appealing the denial of a trademark application, on April 14, 2025, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit upheld the denial of...more
TTAB sustains opposition based on reputation without use in the United States - UNITED STATES OF AMERICA Legal updates: case law analysis and intelligence - The opponent, owner of Venezuelan company La Montserratina,...more
In a rare case involving an admitted error by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, on February 20, 2025, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit upheld the denial of Agadia Systems Inc.’s application for...more
The US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit vacated a ruling from the Trademark Trial & Appeal Board, disagreeing with the Board’s dismissal of Bureau National Interprofessionnel du Cognac’s opposition to a trademark...more
The US Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit affirmed a district court’s summary judgment grant in a trademark dispute, finding that the district court did not err in concluding that a subset of design elements lacked...more
The US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit affirmed in part a district court’s ruling in a trademark dispute, upholding its decision to invalidate trademark applications. The Ninth Circuit held that district courts have...more
The US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit confirmed the US Patent & Trademark Office’s (PTO) refusal to register a trademark based on the applicant’s failure to comply with the domicile address requirement of 37 C.F.R....more
2023 saw a return to business as usual for the Federal Circuit. Oral arguments are once again in-person and open to the public, and the Court has resumed its former practice of holding occasional sittings outside of...more
Addressing whether the mark EVERYBODY VS. RACISM was registrable, the US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit affirmed the Trademark Trial & Appeal Board’s final refusal to register the mark because it failed to function...more
In In re Palacio Del Rio Inc (Serial Nos 88412764 and 88437801), the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (TTAB) has issued an opinion affirming the refusal of two building design mark applications by Palacio Del Rio Inc (PDR) –...more
The appellants, Interprofession du Gruyère and Syndicat Interprofessionnel du Gruyère, are two consortiums, Swiss and French, that regulate use of the term ‘gruyere’ to refer only to cheeses produced in the Gruyère district...more
Recently, Melissa Jefferson, known professionally as Lizzo, took on the USPTO in a battle to establish trademark rights to a popular lyric from her 2017, Billboard-topping song Truth Hurts. The phrase, “100% That B—h”, which...more
Late last week, the USPTO issued Examination Guide 1-23 which establishes guidelines for USPTO Examining Attorney compliance with Section 2(c) of the Lanham Act. The Guide provides a framework for examining certain types of...more
The Federal Circuit in In re JC Hospitality LLC recently affirmed the United States Patent and Trademark Office, Trademark Trial and Appeal Board’s refusal to register the service mark THE JOINT for a venue offering...more
In July, the Second Board of Appeal of EUIPO declared the MONOPOLY trade mark invalid to the extent that the underlying application covered goods and services for which the trade mark was already registered. Such filings...more
The Federal Circuit upheld a Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (“Board”) decision refusing registration of an athletic apparel company’s trademark, holding that the trademark applicant waived its key arguments by not raising...more
Before Prost, Lourie and Stoll. Appeal from the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board. Summary: In evaluating whether a webpage printout is an acceptable specimen of use for a trademark in connection with goods, the USPTO may...more
If you have ever had a Coke Zero, what do you understand ZERO to mean – “zero calories,” “zero sugar,” “zero carbohydrates” or some combination of each? If your friend who never had a Coke Zero asked you what the difference...more
In This Issue - Gender Diversity in Patenting: Current Landscape and Recommendations - The gender gap in patenting is a current challenge that companies face. While this issue seems pervasive, companies and lawyers can...more
According to the Federal Circuit, the skinny on the term “Thins” is that it may be generic for thinly cut snack crackers. Real Foods Pty Ltd. V. Frito-Lay North America, Inc., (October 4, 2018 Fed. Cir.)....more
(Case analysis: T-687/16 – Koton Magazacilik Tekstil Sanayi ve Ticaret AS v EUIPO / Joaquín Nadal Esteban) - Successfully proving bad faith in a cancellation action can be a challenge....more