ICYMI, a new Trademark Manual of Examining Procedure (TMEP) was released by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) last month. The July 2021 revision replaces and supersedes the October 2018 version, and it incorporates final rules, examination guides, and Supreme Court decisions that have issued since then. A change summary is available here
USPTO Seeks to Register Its Own Marks
Whether the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) possessed trademark registrations for its own trademarks was honestly not something I had ever thought about before. But then I received a link to the Director’s Forum blog earlier this month telling me that the Department of Commerce had recently filed for federal registration of the
USPTO Trademark Webinars for Small Businesses
Throughout this summer, the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) is offering its series of virtual webinars dubbed “Trademark Basics Boot Camp.” The series appears to be tailored to small business owners and entrepreneurs and is broken up into eight modules focused on discrete topics. Registration for the upcoming modules listed below, as well
Potential COVID-19 Vaccine Waiver
The news cycle remains dominated by COVID-19 issues. One thing we’re watching is whether and to what extent the World Trade Organization (WTO) will waive intellectual property (IP) protections for vaccines in an attempted effort to increase global access to vaccines.
A broad proposal for waiver on enforcement of IP related to COVID-19 prevention, containment,
ICYMI: Maryland’s Digital Advertising Tax
In case you missed it, Maryland became the first state back in February to pass a digital advertising services tax into law (and over the governor’s veto no less). The law, titled Digital Advertising Gross Revenues Tax, is designed to tax annual gross revenues derived from “digital advertising services” (meaning advertisements on a digital interface
Stimulus Package Includes Major Changes to Trademark & Copyright Law
The pandemic relief and economic stimulus legislation that hurriedly passed Congress at the tail end of 2020, named the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2021 (“the Act”), resulted in major changes to American trademark and copyright law. Specifically, the Act included three intellectual property bills: the Trademark Modernization Act of 2020, the Copyright Alternative in Small-Claims
USPTO Trademark Trends
Today I attended the United States Patent and Trademark Office’s (USPTO) virtual webinar on trademark trends and current developments in the United States and in Israel. Among the speakers were Andrei Iancu, the Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property and Director of the USPTO, and David Gooder, the Commissioner for Trademarks at the USPTO.
TM Registration Specimens
To apply for a federally-registered trademark with the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), an applicant is required under 15 U.S.C. § 1051 to, among other things, submit specimens of the mark and verify that it is being used in commerce (or in the event of a future intent to use, verification as such
Beware of Online Scammers
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has reported a three-fold increase in consumer reports about scams arising on social media since last year as well as a spike around the time the COVID-19 pandemic began. This includes reports about buying products that never arrived and about scams involving romance, economic relief, or income opportunities, which became
Amy Coney Barrett on IP Issues
As the Senate hearings for Judge Amy Coney Barrett conclude, and as her confirmation looms nearly certain, I’ve been wondering where she falls on Intellectual Property (IP) issues. Turns out so have others.
An article posted on Bloomberg Law titled “Where Does Judge Barrett Fall on IP Issues” noted that Judge Barrett has only decided