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United States Patent and Trademark Office › Appeals › Trademark Trial and Appeal Board

The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office is an agency of the United States Department of Commerce that serves a fundamental role in the U.S. intellectual property system by issuing patents and registering trademarks.... more +
The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office is an agency of the United States Department of Commerce that serves a fundamental role in the U.S. intellectual property system by issuing patents and registering trademarks.    less -
Fitch, Even, Tabin & Flannery LLP

The Federal Circuit takes on Kisses, Sunlight, and Soft Drinks

Fitch, Even, Tabin & Flannery LLP on

An application for a US trademark may be rejected if it is likely, when used on or in connection with the goods of the applicant, to cause confusion with another registered mark. On July 23, in Sunkist Growers, Inc. v....more

Farella Braun + Martel LLP

New TTAB Precedent Prohibits Incorporation By Reference

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In a precedential decision issued June 6, 2025, the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (TTAB) confirmed what has long been suggested in its procedural manual: Appellants in ex parte appeals may not incorporate arguments from...more

McDermott Will & Schulte

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

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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

McDermott Will & Schulte

Stylish but Generic: ‘VETEMENTS’ Can’t Dress Up as Trademark

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The US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit affirmed the Trademark Trial & Appeal Board’s refusal to register the mark VETEMENTS for clothing and related retail services, finding that the mark was generic under the...more

McDermott Will & Schulte

False Connection: Post-Application Date Evidence Can Be Considered

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The US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit affirmed the Trademark Trial & Appeal Board’s refusal to register a mark on the grounds of false connection, explaining that the false connection inquiry can include evidence...more

Fish & Richardson

No Space at the Trademark Office for US SPACE FORCE

Fish & Richardson on

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

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

Proskauer - The Patent Playbook

Value and Risk of Overlapping Intellectual Property Protections

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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

ArentFox Schiff

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

ArentFox Schiff on

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

McDermott Will & Schulte

Opposers Beware: Your Own Mark May Not Be Protectable

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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

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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

Trademark Office Error Saves One Application From Drowning, But Not Its Shipmate

Fish & Richardson on

In a rare case involving an admitted error by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, on February 20, 2025, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit upheld the denial of Agadia Systems Inc.’s application for...more

Holland & Knight LLP

COGNAC, Hip Hop and Fame: A Trademark Showdown with a Twist

Holland & Knight LLP on

You might be wondering what cognac, hip-hop and fame have in common. The answer, at least in a recent opinion by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, is certification trademarks. We have written in the past...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

Sole Searching: Trade Dress Hopes Booted as Functional, Nondistinctive

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The US Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit affirmed a district court’s summary judgment grant in a trademark dispute, finding that the district court did not err in concluding that a subset of design elements lacked...more

McDermott Will & Schulte

District Court Subpoena Power Plays “Supporting Role” to PTO Rules

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Addressing the subpoena power of district courts to compel evidence for use in US Patent & Trademark Office (PTO) proceedings, the US Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit upheld a district court’s decision (albeit on...more

Willcox & Savage

A Proposed Mark Must Have A Source Identifying Function: Trademark Denied For “Keep America Great!”

Willcox & Savage on

In a non-precedential opinion; In re America in Harm’s Way; Serial No. 87976064, issued on November 30, 2023, the United States Patent and Trademark Office Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (“TTAB”), decided the issue of...more

McDermott Will & Schulte

No Home Away From Home: Federal Circuit Confirms PTO Domicile Requirements

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The US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit confirmed the US Patent & Trademark Office’s (PTO) refusal to register a trademark based on the applicant’s failure to comply with the domicile address requirement of 37 C.F.R....more

Bradley Arant Boult Cummings LLP

Still No Cancellation Based on Fraud, But What Next Steps Might the TTAB Take?

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The Federal Circuit just “re-issued” its precedential decision in Great Concepts, LLC v. Chutter, Inc. (No. 2022-1212), where it had previously reversed the USPTO’s cancellation of a registered trademark. There was no...more

Sheppard Mullin Richter & Hampton LLP

Federal Circuit’s Determination on Whether Fraudulent Conduct in Obtaining Incontestable Status Warrants the Mark’s Cancellation

Sheppard Mullin Richter & Hampton LLP on

In Great Concepts, LLC, v. Chutter, Inc., the Federal Circuit decided on whether the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board can cancel a trademark based on the inclusion of false statements in a declaration to obtain an...more

Bradley Arant Boult Cummings LLP

What’s in a Name? Too Much to Trademark According to the USPTO

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With the U.S. Supreme Court beginning a new session, many are wondering what new issues the Court will address this term. One case the Court is scheduled to hear involves the relationship between the Lanham Act and First...more

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

MarkIt to Market® - October 2023: A Limit to Cancel Culture? Federal Circuit Finds Fraud in Connection with Section 15 Declaration...

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In 2021, the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board cancelled Great Concepts, LLC’s trademark registration for the mark DANTANNA’S for restaurant services under Section 14, after finding that counsel for the Registrant committed...more

Bradley Arant Boult Cummings LLP

Cancellation of a Registered Mark Based on Fraud in Section 15 Affidavit Not Allowed

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On Wednesday, a divided panel of the Federal Circuit issued a precedential decision reversing the USPTO’s cancellation of a registered trademark (Great Concepts, LLC v. Chutter, Inc., No. 2022-1212). As detailed in the...more

McDermott Will & Schulte

Hairy Situation: Trademark Act Doesn’t Provide Consumer Standing

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The US Patent & Trademark Office Trademark Trial & Appeal Board found that a consumer did not have standing to oppose an application for registration because the consumer failed to establish a commercial interest and injury...more

Ladas & Parry LLP

Fourth Circuit Confirms That ‘Gruyere’ is Generic for Cheese

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The appellants, Interprofession du Gruyère and Syndicat Interprofessionnel du Gruyère, are two consortiums, Swiss and French, that regulate use of the term ‘gruyere’ to refer only to cheeses produced in the Gruyère district...more

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