News & Analysis as of

Likelihood of Confusion United States Patent and Trademark Office Trademark Registration

Foley Hoag LLP - Making Your Mark

Brewed in San Diego: Trademark Lessons from America's Craft Beer Capital and Beyond

This year, the INTA Annual Meeting lands in sunny San Diego, California—a city known not only for its breathtaking coastline, laid-back vibe, and rich cultural diversity, but also for its dynamic landscape of iconic brands...more

Amundsen Davis LLC

How Businesses Can Enforce Trademark Registrations

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Trademark registrations are a great tool for business owners to protect their brand identity. Unlike some other forms of intellectual property protection, trademarks can last forever provided that they are actively used and...more

Harris Beach Murtha PLLC

Fourth Circuit Confirms: Physical Distance Does Not Avoid Trademark Confusion

The Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals recently issued a decision confirming that using similar names for businesses in the same industry can result in a likelihood of confusion despite the physical distance of the entities. In...more

Irwin IP LLP

Your “Chicken Scratch” May Be Confusing 

Irwin IP LLP on

In Re R.S. Lipman Brewing Co., LLC, 2025 WL 1099603 (Fed. Cir. Apr. 14, 2025) - Be careful when selecting a name for your product, otherwise you might find yourself cooked at the United States Patent and Trademark Office...more

McDermott Will & Emery

Opposers Beware: Your Own Mark May Not Be Protectable

McDermott Will & Emery on

The US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit affirmed the Trademark Trial & Appeal Board’s dismissal of an opposition to the registration of the marks IVOTERS and IVOTERS.COM while also noting that the US Patent &...more

Offit Kurman

Trademark Registration Misconceptions: What Brand Owners Should Know

Offit Kurman on

Many business owners view trademark registration as a smart investment—and they’re right. A federal registration gives you valuable legal advantages, including nationwide priority, a presumption of ownership, and stronger...more

Dorsey & Whitney LLP

Compassion in Registration: A Lesson in Filing Narrow Trademark Applications

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Identical trademarks can coexist, as the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board once again emphasized when it overturned the refusal of a COMPASSION IN ACTION mark. ...more

Dorsey & Whitney LLP

John Wick Targets Jane Wick with Trademark Opposition

Dorsey & Whitney LLP on

John Wick is a highly successful film franchise starring Keanu Reeves as a hitman who reluctantly emerges from retirement to avenge the killing of his pet beagle (among other offenses committed by a group of not-very-nice...more

Bond Schoeneck & King PLLC

Trade Dress Registration – Practical Considerations for Product Manufacturers

Summary Trade dress is a powerful intellectual property (IP) tool that can be used to protect the distinctive non-functional “look and feel" of a product’s design, shape and/or 3D configuration.[1] Product manufacturers and...more

Fish & Richardson

USPTO Kicks “Hijacker” of Foreign Trademark Out the Door

Fish & Richardson on

When, if ever, is it okay to use a trademark in U.S. commerce that is identical to another company’s mark used outside the U.S.? Courts have struggled with this issue for years, and the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office...more

Seyfarth Shaw LLP

UGG(H), My Business Needs to Change its Name –A Cautionary Tale for International Trademark Strategy

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A longstanding Australian brand, UGG Since 1974, is fighting for the right to use its UGG trademark for footwear in the United States. Deckers Outdoor Corporation, a US-based shoe company, filed a lawsuit against the...more

Weintraub Tobin

(Podcast) The Briefing: Thirsty for Clarity – Brand Confusion In The Beverage Category

Weintraub Tobin on

The Trademark Trial and Appeal Board often consider wine, beer, and non-alcoholic beverages related when determining the likelihood of confusion despite there being no per se rule on the matter. Scott Hervey and Jamie...more

Weintraub Tobin

The Briefing: Thirsty for Clarity – Brand Confusion In The Beverage Category

Weintraub Tobin on

The Trademark Trial and Appeal Board often consider wine, beer, and non-alcoholic beverages related when determining the likelihood of confusion despite there being no per se rule on the matter. Scott Hervey and Jamie...more

Pillsbury - Propel

Trademark Fundamentals: Likelihood of Confusion

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A core concept in trademark law that every startup founder should understand is “likelihood of confusion.” This legal standard plays a pivotal role in both trademark registration and enforcement. It’s essential for protecting...more

Knobbe Martens

Minority Owners of a Trademark Registrant, Who neither Use nor Possess Ownership Rights in the Mark, Cannot Seek Cancellation of...

Knobbe Martens on

Appeal from the United States Patent and Trademark Office, Trademark Trial and Appeal Board. Summary: Parties that own minority shares in the trademark registrant, but do not separately use or possess an ownership right in...more

Erise IP

What’s Trending in Trademarks, May 2024: Taylor Swift Fans Analyze Latest Trademark Filing; San Francisco Sues Over San Francisco...

Erise IP on

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: Taylor...more

Seyfarth Shaw LLP

A Tableau of Consumer Confusion – Are Alcohol Beverages and Bar Services Always Related?

Seyfarth Shaw LLP on

A recent decision from the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board may make bars and alcoholic beverage brands think twice about their trademark selections. In In re Caymus, the Board upheld a refusal to register TABLEAU, based in...more

Miller Canfield

Location Or Protectable Trademark? Smaller Airports Grounded in Their Pursuit to Use the Name of the Largest Cities They Serve

Miller Canfield on

Two of the busiest airports in the United States are battling with their smaller counterparts to retain trademark rights in the name of the major cities the airports serve. While the smaller airports want to capitalize on...more

Erise IP

What’s Trending in Trademarks, February 2024: Fruity Pebbles Denied Color Mark, Captain Cannabis Cancellation, Trader Joe’s vs....

Erise IP on

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

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

MarkIt to Market® -The Emperor Has No…Agreement? The USPTO’s Recent Update on “Clothed” Consent Agreements

As any good trademark practitioner knows, a “naked” consent agreement is one in which one party provides consent to the registration of another party’s mark without an explanation of why confusion is unlikely, or what the...more

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

MarkIt to Market® - December 2023

Thank you for reading the December 2023 issue of Sterne Kessler's MarkIt to Market® newsletter. This month, we discuss the USPTO's new guidance on "clothed" consent agreements, three ways to protect your identify and avoid...more

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

Federal Circuit Appeals from the PTAB and ITC: Summaries of Key 2022 Decisions

As part of the recovery from the global COVID-19 pandemic, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit took steps to return to normal operations. It began requiring live oral arguments in August 2022 and, by November,...more

BakerHostetler

Marks That Are Opposites Sometimes Attract Refusal of Registration

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When considering a likelihood of confusion, one might naturally think a mark is registrable that is an antonym (opposite) of a registered mark. This was not the result in In re Sugar Free Specialties, LLC, Serial No. 90706411...more

Proskauer - Minding Your Business

Kardashian’s ‘SKKN by Kim’ Brand Facing Legal Uncertainty

Kim Kardashian has been hit with a lawsuit by New York-based Beauty Concepts LLC over Kardashian’s recently launched skincare line, “SKKN by Kim.” Beauty Concepts filed a complaint in the Eastern District of New York against...more

Weintraub Tobin

Ohio State Successfully Registers the Word THE with the Trademark Office

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Ohio State University recently made Intellectual Property headlines by managing to procure a trademark registration for the word THE. The registration procured by Ohio State covers t-shirts, caps, and hats. Although the...more

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