On December 18, 2021, regulations implementing the Trademark Modernization Act of 2020 went into effect. According to the USPTO’s website, the changes provide individuals, businesses, and the USPTO with “new tools to clear away unused registered trademarks from the federal trademark register” and give the USPTO “the ability to move applications through the registration
Pumpkin or Squash?
As Fall comes to an end and we’ve consumed enough pumpkin pie to last us until next year, we remind you of the pumpkin vs. squash advertising debate that is more mind-boggling than what Grandma brought to your Thanksgiving feast.
To wit, canned pumpkin is not always canned pumpkin. Canned pumpkin is sometimes packed from
FTC Warns About Reviews & Endorsements
Earlier this month, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announced that it is now using its Penalty Offense Authority to remind companies not to use fake online reviews or other deceptive endorsements and that stiff penalties (up to $43,792 per violation) will apply if they do.
The FTC sent a Notice of Penalty Offenses letter to
New USPTO Trademark Manual
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.