(Podcast) The Briefing: Trademark Basics – Protecting Names, Logos, and Brands in Entertainment
The Briefing: Trademark Basics - Protecting Names, Logos, and Brands in Entertainment
Recognizing and Avoiding Trademark Scams and Hoaxes
(Podcast) The Briefing: Thirsty for Clarity – Brand Confusion In The Beverage Category
The Briefing: Thirsty for Clarity – Brand Confusion In The Beverage Category
The Briefing: Affiliate Marketing vs Retail Services - TTAB's Landmark Ruling
AGG Talks: Cross-Border Business - How Foreign Companies Can Protect Their IP and Brand in the U.S.
(Podcast) The Briefing: It’s Not Yabba-Dabba-Delicious – TTAB Denies Color Mark for Post Fruity Pebbles!
The Briefing: It’s Not Yabba-Dabba-Delicious – TTAB Denies Color Mark for Post Fruity Pebbles!
(Podcast) The Briefing: SCOTUS to Determine if USPTO Refusal to Register TRUMP TOO SMALL is Unconstitutional
The Briefing: SCOTUS to Determine if USPTO Refusal to Register TRUMP TOO SMALL is Unconstitutional
PODCAST: Paralegal Insights: A Collaborative Trademark Practice, Series 4
The Briefing by the IP Law Blog – No Beating Around the Bush: TTAB Upholds Anti-Pot Policy
Podcast: The Briefing by the IP Law Blog – No Beating Around the Bush: TTAB Upholds Anti-Pot Policy
Podcast: The Briefing by the IP Law Blog - USPTO Suspends Action on Trademark Applications Targeting Names of Public Figures
The Briefing by the IP Law Blog: USPTO Suspends Action on Trademark Applications Targeting Names of Public Figures
PODCAST: Williams Mullen's Trending Now: An IP Podcast - Paralegal Insights: A Collaborative Trademark Practice
Podcast: The Briefing by the IP Law Blog - Could a Trademark Search Have Saved ‘The Cleveland Indians’ Botched Rebrand?
The Briefing by the IP Law Blog: Could a Trademark Search Have Saved ‘The Cleveland Indians’ Botched Rebrand?
PODCAST: Williams Mullen's Trending Now: An IP Podcast - Are there are any Trademarks Available? What Should You Do?
Whether a business is launching a new product or rebranding an existing company, selecting a name, logo, or slogan is a crucial decision. Trademarks are powerful tools that identify the source of goods or services and protect...more
In the competitive landscape of branding and intellectual property, conducting a trademark search before adopting a brand name or filing a trademark application is not just best practice—it’s strategically necessary. This...more
IN RE THOMAS D. FOSTER, APC, - Before Moore, Prost, and Stoll. Appeal from the United States Patent and Trademark Office. Section 2(a) of the Lanham Act bars registration of a pending application for a mark that falsely...more
IN RE: PT MEDISAFE TECHNOLOGIES - Before Prost, Clevenger, and Stark. Appeal from the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board. A proposed color mark was found generic where the relevant public perceived the color to be a common...more
In a precedential decision, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit recently blessed the test used by the U.S. Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (TTAB) for denying registration to PT Medisafe Technologies for a...more
We previously reported that on January 18, 2025, the USPTO implemented its new fee schedule, setting certain new fees and raising some existing ones. Now that the fees have been in place for a while, this Client Alert is to...more
As noted in the linked article, many iconic brands, including Ford, Harley-Davidson, and JC Penney (yes, he was real), bear the surnames of their founders. These names often lend a sense of authenticity or legacy that...more
In filing to register a trademark on an “intent-to-use” basis, the applicant must verify that it has a good faith “bona fide intention to use the mark in commerce.” 15 U.S.C. § 1051(b). Assuming there is nothing on the face...more
In a rare precedential decision involving Section 2(a) of the Lanham Act, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit recently upheld a denial by the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (TTAB) of applications filed for US...more
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
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
Since the renaming of the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America, the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) has seen a surge in trademark applications for the phrase. Seventeen new applications have been filed...more
The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) has introduced new trademark fees for 2025. These changes are designed to address increased operating costs and examination times and they will impact many routine...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
Suppose you want to register a trademark that identifies a source of goods/services for your business. What if the trademark describes an ingredient, quality, feature, function, characteristic, or purpose of your...more
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
Courts are divided on whether their power to order the cancellation of trademark registrations extends to still pending trademark applications under review by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). The Ninth...more
With 2024 now in the rearview mirror, it’s a great time to take a look at the past year’s U.S. trademark prosecution and examination numbers – and consider where the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (“USPTO”) may be heading...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: USPTO...more
There has long been a tension between the Free Speech Clause of the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution and federal trademark law. In two relatively recent Supreme Court trademark cases, the First Amendment won, enabling...more
Vidal v. Elster, 602 U.S. (2024) - In a landmark decision affirming longstanding principles of trademark law, the United States Supreme Court ruled that the Lanham Act’s names clause does not violate the First Amendment,...more
On June 13, 2024, the Supreme Court handed down its decision in Vidal v. Elster, a case that pitted trademark law against the First Amendment’s free speech protections. While the Court unanimously upheld the Patent and...more
Last week, the U.S. Supreme Court decided in Vidal v. Ester, 602 U.S. ___ (2024) that the federal prohibition on registering trademarks that identify a living individual without their consent does not violate the First...more
The June 13, 2024, U.S. Supreme Court decision in Vidal v. Elster made waves in the trademark community. All of the Court’s decisions are significant, and this matter was of particular interest because the decision marked the...more
In Vidal v. Elster, the Supreme Court addressed the constitutionality of Section 2(c) of the Lanham Act, which prohibits the registration as a trademark or service mark of any “name, portrait, or signature identifying a...more