News & Analysis as of

Trademark Trial and Appeal Board Intellectual Property Litigation

Ladas & Parry LLP

Federal Circuit: it’s not easy being green for colour marks

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Legal updates: case law analysis and intelligence - - The TTAB, applying the Milwaukee test, rejected an application for a dark green colour mark for medical gloves on the ground that it was generic - The Federal Circuit...more

Fish & Richardson

Lack of Bona Fide Intent to Use Sends Alcohol Trademark Application Down the Drain

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In a recent precedential decision, the U.S. Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (TTAB) upheld an opposition by Tequila Cuadra S. de RL de CV (“Tequila Cuadra”) and denied an application filed by Manufacturera de Botas Cuadra,...more

McDermott Will & Schulte

No Fairytale Ending for Consumer Opposition: RAPUNZEL Reinforces Lexmark Standing Limits

The US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit affirmed the Trademark Trial & Appeal Board’s dismissal of a trademark opposition brought by a consumer, holding that mere consumer interest is insufficient to establish...more

Proskauer - The Patent Playbook

Value and Risk of Overlapping Intellectual Property Protections

A well-orchestrated intellectual property strategy requires carefully and thoughtfully leveraging copyright, trademark, and patent laws, as highlighted by a recent decision handed down by the United Sates Court of Appeals for...more

Irwin IP LLP

Finding The Right Fit: The Test for Color Marks 

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In Re: PT Medisafe Technologies, No. 2023-1573 (Fed. Cir. April 29, 2025) - On April 29, 2025, the Federal Circuit adopted a test from the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (“TTAB”) for determining whether a color mark is...more

McDermott Will & Schulte

Royal Play Penalty: No Standing in the End (Zone)

The US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit dismissed an appeal from the Trademark Trial & Appeal Board, finding that the appellant lacked standing because it failed to allege any actual and particularized injury. Michael...more

Knobbe Martens

Fireball Frenzy: When First Registering a Mark, Genericness of a Mark Is Determined at the Time of Registration

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BULLSHINE DISTILLERY LLC v. SAZERAC BRANDS, LLC - Before Moore, Reyna and Taranto. Appeal from the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board. In assessing genericness, the TTAB considers how the mark was understood at the time of...more

McDermott Will & Schulte

Opposers Beware: Your Own Mark May Not Be Protectable

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

Knobbe Martens

Zoned Out: The Zone of Natural Expansion Doctrine Can Only Be Used Defensively

Knobbe Martens on

DOLLAR FINANCIAL GROUP, INC. v. BRITTEX FINANCIAL, INC. [OPINION] - Before Prost, Taranto, and Hughes.  Appeal from the United States Patent and Trademark Office, Trademark Trial and Appeal Board. The zone of natural...more

Fish & Richardson

TTAB Puts Pool Hall Behind the 8 Ball

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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

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

McDermott Will & Schulte

No Bull: Historically Generic Term Can Become Non-Generic

The US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit affirmed Trademark Trial & Appeal Board rulings, finding that a previously generic term was not generic at the time registration was sought because at that time the mark, as...more

Snell & Wilmer

Fourth Circuit Holds Additional Evidence Needed to Determine Whether “MOKE” is Generic

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The Fourth Circuit recently vacated and remanded a finding that the term MOKE is generic for certain low-speed, open-air vehicles. This case originated in the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (“TTAB”) where Moke America LLC...more

Irwin IP LLP

Cognac Flexing Fame in Hip-hop

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Bureau Nat'l Interprofessionnel du Cognac v. Cologne & Cognac Ent., 110 F.4th 1356 (Fed. Cir. 2024) - In trademark disputes, the likelihood of confusion analysis—guided by the DuPont factors—is a balancing test with the...more

McDermott Will & Schulte

Pink Is Not the New Black: See Functionality Doctrine

The US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit affirmed a Trademark Trial & Appeal Board decision canceling trademarks for the color pink for ceramic hip components, stating that substantial evidence supported the Board’s...more

Irwin IP LLP

Hips Don’t Lie (About Their Allegedly Optimal Color). 

Irwin IP LLP on

CeramTec v. Coorstek Bioceramics, Case No. 2023-1502 (Fed. Cir. Jan. 3, 2025) - Colors are generally permitted as source identifiers for trademarks or trade dress because they are typically perceived as an ornamental...more

Baker Donelson

Baker's Trademark Developments of 2024

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2024 has been a busy year in all intellectual property. It has been especially busy in trademark law. Here are the top seven cases in trademark law to date....more

Seyfarth Shaw LLP

A Very Demure and Very Mindful Look at What Celebrities Can Teach Us About Trademarks

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What do a social media content creator and reality television stars have in common? Apart from more followers than I’ll ever have, significant issues regarding their trademarks. Jools Lebron, a content creator, was...more

Erise IP

What’s Trending in Trademarks, August 2024: What Constitutes an Abandoned Mark? How Famous is Cognac?

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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: Fourth...more

McDermott Will & Schulte

Unbranded Brandy: COGNAC Certification Mark Matters, Even in Hip-Hop

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

Erise IP

What’s Trending in Trademarks, July 2024: Suit Against Prime Hydration Puts Unique Olympic Trademark Law on Display; Are Two...

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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: Suit...more

Ladas & Parry LLP

VEUVE CLICQUOT v. VEUVE OLIVIER: TTAB Favours Petitioner as Respondent Defaults in Cancellation Action

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In MHCS v Les Grands Chais De France (Cancellation No 92075021, 8 March 2024), the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (TTAB) has granted a petition for cancellation brought by viticulture giant MHCS against a mark owned by the...more

Farella Braun + Martel LLP

Certification Marks and Fame

Trademark owners have the right to stop third parties from using marks that could cause a likelihood of consumer confusion. Third-party use of a trademark that is the same or similar to the owner's trademark for goods related...more

McDermott Will & Schulte

Sour Grapes: Winery Minority Ownership Insufficient for Statutory Standing at Trademark Board

The US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit affirmed the dismissal of a petition seeking to cancel the registered marks of two wineries, finding the petitioner (a trust owning an interest in a competitor winery) lacked...more

Foley Hoag LLP - Making Your Mark

Trailblazers, OutKasts, and Iconic Brands: The INTA Annual Meeting in Atlanta

The INTA Annual Meeting is here! As one of the largest gatherings of trademark professionals from around the world, the INTA Annual Meeting offers opportunities for networking, education, and collaboration. Against the...more

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