Sharpen Your Sword: Adduce Proof When Claiming Prior Copyright to Challenge a Trademark in China
While all brand owners desire to protect their trademarks, many do not regularly create or maintain detailed records of their use of their marks. A best practice that may pay dividends for your business, and help to protect...more
SUNKIST GROWERS, INC. v. INTRASTATE DISTRIBUTORS, INC. - Before Prost, Taranto, and Stark. Appeal from the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board. The TTAB incorrectly found that similar trademarks created distinct commercial...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
On March 20, 2025, the U.S. Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (TTAB) granted an opposition filed by Jack’s Family Restaurants, LP, and denied an application filed by Jack’s Grill and Billiards, Inc., to register JACK’S...more
For startup founders, navigating the complexities of trademark law is essential for protecting your brand. An important aspect of this process involves understanding opposition and cancellation proceedings. These are formal...more
In a decision on motion in an appeal from the Trademark Trial & Appeal Board, the US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit admonished the Board on remand to “furnish a reasoned explanation” when departing from its...more
The Trademark Trial & Appeal Board affirmed the rejection of three trademark applications, finding that the applied-for marks would cause confusion with a record-setting major league baseball player. Major League Baseball...more
The China National Intellectual Property Administration (CNIPA) circulated a draft amendment to the PRC Trademark Law (TML Draft Amendment) for public comment on January 13, 2023. The TML Draft Amendment is the product of...more
Exclusive rights over a trademark in Colombia arise solely from registration. Therefore, the general rule is that a trademark registered or protected under the legislation of a different country may not be used as valid...more
Suppose that you are a foreign applicant who either files a trademark application, opposition proceeding, or cancellation proceeding with the USPTO. Can this act of filing subject the foreign applicant to service of process...more
If you recently filed a trademark application with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, you may have noticed that the average time to first action (initial examination) is about six months from the application’s filing date...more
Monster Energy Co. (“Monster Energy”), frequent trademark plaintiff, recently found itself on the receiving end of a trademark infringement lawsuit brought by California company Outdoor Pro Shop, Inc. (“Pro Shop”). Pro Shop’s...more
The August 2021 issue of Sterne Kessler's MarkIt to Market® newsletter discusses Monster Energy's history of trademark disputes in the context of enhancing brand strength, tips for shortening the pendency of trademark filings...more
With all of the business interruption caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, many worldwide trademark offices have taken steps to recognize the issues caused by the crisis. The offices in which applicants from the U.S. most...more
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex submitted a trade mark application with the World Intellectual Property Office last year to register “SUSSEX ROYAL” in the UK, EU, Australia, Canada and the US. The application covers a range of...more
Two recent decisions from the Western District of North Carolina in Winestore Holdings LLC v. Justin Vineyards & Winery LLC provide a tasting of the requirements for bringing a declaratory judgment action for non-infringement...more
Most opposition proceedings in the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board of the USPTO settle before final judgment, often based on a negotiated settlement agreement requiring the abandonment of the opposed application. In these...more
When TV format creator Mark Duffy struck upon the tongue-in-cheek name “The Pets Factor” for what was (presumably) a talent competition for domestic animals, he might well have smiled at his own ingenuity. Conversely, when...more
On June 17, 2019, Canada’s Trademarks Act changed, resulting in its modernization. Canada has now joined five international intellectual property treaties, including the Madrid Protocol, Singapore Treaty and Nice Agreement,...more
In an interesting case pending before the TTAB, law students from the Suffolk University IP and Entrepreneurship Clinic have opposed an application filed by United Trademark Holdings, Inc. to register RAPUNZEL as a trademark...more
In denying a doll maker’s motion to dismiss a mom’s opposition to the registration of the trademark RAPUNZEL, the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (TTAB) has relaxed the already liberal standard for what constitutes a “real...more
Rapunzel potentially was released from the trademark monopoly tower, not by her hair, but by trademark opposer and law professor Rebecca Curtin....more
The Vegas Golden Knights, an expansion team based in Las Vegas that joined the National Hockey League (NHL) earlier this year, have had a surprisingly successful “rookie year,” both on the ice and at the box office. This...more
Under U.S. trademark law, any person (including a celebrity) can obtain a trademark registration for their name if they can establish that the public recognizes the name as a source identifier for certain products or...more
Significant changes are coming to the Community Trade Mark or “CTM” starting in 2016. Since 1996, the CTM has provided a unitary trademark registration system to protect trademarks within the European Union, which now has 28...more