On December 10, 2021, the TTAB issued a precedential decision reminding trademark practitioners and applicants that service mark use requires that an applicant actually render the services recited in the trademark application; mere preparation to render the services is insufficient.
Alessandra Suuberg filed a use-based application to register the mark HAVE SOME DECENCY in connection
Today, the USPTO issued regulations implementing the provisions of the Trademark Modernization Act of 2020 (“TMA”). The Regulations can be found here.
Practitioners should review the Regulations as soon as possible to familiarize themselves with the new Rules. Practitioners should take notice that the majority of the of the provisions take effect December 18
All TTAB practitioners are familiar with the heightened standard of proof required to prove fraud before the USPTO. However, many forget that proving an intent to deceive the USPTO, not the falsity of the statement or its materiality, is the lynchpin of every fraud claim. In a recent decision, the TTAB reminded practitioners of this
In a recent precedential decision, the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (“TTAB”) cautioned practitioners to be careful what they ask for and to draft their filings accordingly.
On September 8, 2021, the TTAB denied Applicant Grüne Erde Beteiligungs GmbH’s (“Grüne Erde”) motion for relief from judgment following its express abandonment of its opposed multi-class application
In a recent precedential decision, the TTAB again revisited the doctrines of claim and issue preclusion.
Valvoline Licensing & Intellectual Property LLC (“Valvoline”) opposed Sunpoint International Group USA Corp.’s (“Sunpoint”) application to register the mark MAXVOLINE on the sole ground of likelihood of confusion. Sunpoint moved for summary judgment based on the defense of res
In a recent precedential decision, the TTAB confronted the issue of timeliness of discovery requests served in opposition and cancellation proceedings—namely, whether Eastern Standard Time (EST) controls the timeliness of service of such discovery requests, regardless of the geographic location of the serving party. While not a particularly exciting legal issue, it is no doubt
On May 20, 2021, the TTAB issued a lengthy and comprehensive precedential opinion canceling Proof Research, Inc.’s registration for the trade dress of a gun barrel (as shown below) on grounds of de jure functionality under Section 2(e)(5).
The registered trade dress “consists of trade dress applied to gun barrels formed with a mottled pattern
Yesterday, the USPTO issued an alert regarding emails that U.S. attorneys have been receiving from unlicensed persons offering to pay attorneys in exchange for use of the attorneys’ bar credentials in trademark filings. The USPTO views such communications as a tool intended to circumvent the U.S. counsel rule.
The USPTO cautioned U.S. attorneys that, by
On March 17, 2021, in a matter of first impression, the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit held a party appealing a decision of the United States Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (“TTAB”) may seek review of the decision in either the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit or
On March 5, 2021, the U.S. Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (“TTAB”) issued a precedential decision affirming refusal of SolarWindow Technologies, Inc.’s application to register the word mark POWERCOATINGS. The decision is a cautionary tale, for counsel and applicants alike, of the potential future ramifications of allowing an application to go abandoned following