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Trademarks › CAFC

A Trademark is a legally registered distinctive mark or sign which identifies goods, products or services that originate or are associated with a particular person or enterprise . A typical example of a trademark... more +
A Trademark is a legally registered distinctive mark or sign which identifies goods, products or services that originate or are associated with a particular person or enterprise . A typical example of a trademark would be a company's logo such as the Nike "Check" or McDonald's "Golden Arches."  less -
Knobbe Martens

Sunkist Squeezes Out a Win and Kisses Kist Goodbye!

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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

McDermott Will & Schulte

Kissing cousins? SUNKIST and KIST deemed confusingly similar

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The US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit reversed a Trademark Trial & Appeal Board decision, concluding that there was a likelihood of confusion between the marks KIST and SUNKIST when used in connection with soft...more

International Lawyers Network

Can Non-English Language Trademarks Be Refused Registration Based on the Foreign Equivalents Doctrine?

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Suppose that you want to register your trademark that is in a non-English language on goods or services for your business in the United States. Will your non-English language trademark need to be translated to English to...more

Knobbe Martens

The Federal Circuit Grounds US SPACE FORCE Trademark Application

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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

Fish & Richardson

Trademark Application for French “Clothing” Unravels at the Federal Circuit

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The Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit recently affirmed a denial by the U.S. Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (TTAB) of an application filed by fashion house Vetements Group AG for VETEMENTS for various articles of...more

Knobbe Martens

Not Lost in Translation: Federal Circuit Clarifies Application of the Doctrine of Foreign Equivalents

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IN RE: VETEMENTS GROUP AG - Before Prost, Wallach, and Chen. Appeal from the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board. A party opposing application of the doctrine of foreign equivalents has the burden to show that the ordinary...more

Mayer Brown

Lost in Translation: The Doctrine of Foreign Equivalents in Trademark Law

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In this episode of The Upper Brand, Kristine Young and Rich Assmus discuss the recent Federal Circuit case regarding the doctrine of foreign equivalents in trademark law. They explore the concepts of descriptiveness and...more

McDermott Will & Schulte

No Green Light to Register Color Mark for Medical Gloves

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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

ArentFox Schiff

It’s Not Easy Being Green (If You Are a Color Trademark for Medical Gloves)

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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

Jones Day

Gloves Off: Court Says No to Green Trademark Protection

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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

Fish & Richardson

Federal Circuit Finds Beer Trademark Application Nothing but "Chicken Scratch"

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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

Irwin IP LLP

Your “Chicken Scratch” May Be Confusing 

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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

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

TTAB Upholds Reputation Outside of U.S. as Ground for Opposition

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In the recent precedential decision Plumrose Holding Ltd. v. USA Ham LLC, Opposition No. 91272970 (January 17, 2025), the U.S. Trademark Trial and Appeal Board found that an Opposer had standing to challenge registration of a...more

Sullivan & Worcester

Federal Circuit Holding in Crocs v. Effervescent Puts the Shoe on the Other Foot

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On October 3, 2024, in Crocs, Inc. v. Effervescent, Inc., the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit (“CAFC”) issued a precedential opinion ruling that a brand’s false claim of patent ownership in a product...more

Willcox & Savage

Trump Too Small: The Lanham Act Names Clause

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To guide potential trademark owners and to foster strong protection for trademarks under U.S. law, the Lanham Act; 15 U.S.C. §1052, defines the types of trademarks and service which marks can be registered by whittling away...more

Fox Rothschild LLP

Supreme Court Rejects TRUMP TOO SMALL Trademark

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“TRUMP TOO SMALL”- This is the trademark that Steve Elster has been trying to get registered for the past six years since filing his trademark application all the way back in January 2018, during the Trump presidency. Since...more

Epstein Becker & Green

How Big a Deal Is “Trump Too Small”? – SCOTUS Today

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The question of whether a would-be trademark, “TRUMP TOO SMALL,” warrants a First Amendment exception to the Lanham Act’s prohibition on registering a living person’s name as a trademark without that person’s permission has...more

White and Williams LLP

Winter COVID-19 Relief Bill: Overview of Key IP and Entertainment Provisions

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Congress passed The Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021 (Act) on December 21, 2020 and the Act was signed into law by President Trump on December 27, 2020. Though titled as COVID relief, the Act includes sweeping changes to...more

BakerHostetler

CAFC Holds the Lack of a Property Interest in a Trademark Does Not Prevent the Commencement of a Cancellation Proceeding

BakerHostetler on

The Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit (“CAFC”), in a 2-1 vote, held in Australian Therapeutic Supplies Pty., Ltd. v. Naked TM, LLC, Appeal No. 2019-1567 (Fed.Cir. July 27, 2020), that a property interest in a mark is...more

ArentFox Schiff

A New Shade of Protectability

ArentFox Schiff on

The US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit recently ruled that color marks can be inherently distinctive when applied to product packaging trade dress. The CAFC upends a long-held understanding that color marks can never...more

Fish & Richardson

Federal Circuit Rules Color Trademarks Can Be Inherently Distinctive, Vacating TTAB

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The Federal Circuit Court of Appeals (CAFC) recently held that “color marks” (i.e., trademarks consisting solely of one or more colors without words or designs) can be inherently distinctive, vacating a 2018 Trademark Trial...more

Stoel Rives LLP

Filing a New ITU Trademark Application? Be Prepared to Prove Your Intent

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Staking an early claim to a brand has inspired many hasty (and sometimes ill-advised) trademark applications. For example, trademark applications representing political rallying cries and pop culture slogans such as JE SUIS...more

Dorsey & Whitney LLP

US China Trade War — TPA Passes Senate–Developments in Trade, Customs, IP/337, Antitrust and Securities

Dorsey & Whitney LLP on

The major trade issue is Trade Promotion Authority (“TPA”) and the Trans Pacific Partnership. On May 22, 2015, after another close cloture vote, the TPA bill passed the Senate by a majority vote of 62 to 37 votes. The...more

Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP

IP Newsflash - February 2015

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FEDERAL CIRCUIT CASES - PTAB’s Broadest Reasonable Interpretation Standard Affirmed by Fed. Circuit in First Ever IPR Appeal - On Wednesday, February 4, 2015, the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit (CAFC)...more

King & Spalding

Intellectual Property Newsletter - June 2013

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In This Issue: *News from the Bench - Unanimous Supreme Court Ruling on Gene Patentability: Natural DNA “No”/ cDNA “Yes” - CAFC Reverses Denial of Permanent Injunction Based on Perceived Future...more

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