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
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
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
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has a “Cooling-Off Rule” that gives consumers a three-day right to cancel a sale made at their home, workplace, or dormitory, or at a seller’s temporary location, like a hotel or motel room, convention center, fairground, or restaurant. Thus, the Rule applies both to in-home presentations and to in-person seminars
Earlier this month, the Trademark Trial & Appeal Board (TTAB) issued a precedential ruling that the term “Gruyere” for cheese is generic. In 2015, Swiss and French industry groups sought a certification mark for the term, arguing that the mark certifies that the cheese is from the Gruyere region of Switzerland and France. The U.S.
As a surprise to many, the Washington Redskins recently announced that it will be changing its 87-year old name. This decision comes after recent events that sparked nationwide discussions about race and caused various corporate sponsors to exert pressure on the Redskins’ organization. But it also comes after years of the Redskins fighting to protect
Last month, the United States Patent and Trademark Office’s (USPTO) began an initiative to expedite the review of, and waive the fees related to, trademark applications for marks used to identify qualifying Covid-19 products and services. According to the USPTO’s website, this initiative launched “in view of the critical need to develop and help
This week, the United States Supreme Court issued an important decision in U.S. Patent and Trademark Office v. Booking.com affirming that “Booking.com” is a protectable trademark. This case stemmed from the United States Patent and Trademark Office’s (“PTO”) rejection of Booking.com’s attempt to register its domain name as a service mark for hotel registration services
Our colleague, Melissa Scott, recently wrote an alert on an opinion from the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals about access to attorneys’ fees in copyright infringement cases. The underlying copyright dispute in Doc’s Dream, LLC, v. Dolores Press, Inc., et al. related to the video recordings of a deceased minister’s sermons, but the significant
An update from Kaitie Eke, one of the firm’s summer associates:
A copyright infringement lawsuit filed by four major publishing companies against the Internet Archive has prompted early termination of the site’s National Emergency Library, a project that made books available electronically during the COVID-19 pandemic. Although the project’s conclusion may render some of