On Friday, the United States Patent & Trademark Office (USPTO) announced that it was cancelling all in-person meetings — including all examiner interviews, all meetings between examiners and applicants, and all hearings before the Patent Trial & Appeal Board (PTAB) and Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (TTAB). The USPTO noted that parties will receive further
Federal Circuit Confirms Website TM Requirement
Earlier this month, at the request of the United States Patent and Trademark Office, the Federal Circuit Court of Appeals officially set a trademark registration requirement by making an earlier ruling precedential. That previously-unpublished ruling, which affirmed an earlier Trademark Trial & Appeal Board ruling, clarified the specific types of sales transaction information that are
“Keto” Found Descriptive
Yesterday the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (“TTAB”) affirmed the refusal by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (“USPTO”) to allow a Florida company to register trademarks containing the word “Keto.” In its ruling, the TTAB explained that the term “keto” is descriptive for ketogenic dietary products, even when combined with the other words
Air Jordan Logo Too Similar to Rob Gronkowski Logo, Says Nike
Nike continues to flex its ever-growing muscles in protecting its lucrative Jumpman brand, blocking the NFL’s Rob Gronkowski’s registration of a silhouette of his signature touchdown spike earlier this week. In a Notice of Opposition before the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board of the United States Patent and Trademark Office (“USPTO”), Nike argues that Gronkowski’s
What Do Trademark Symbols Symbolize?
The short answer is that ™ is supposed to mean someone just thinks something is a trademark. ® is supposed to mean that a government trademarking authority has agreed that it could be a trademark and has issued a registration certificate.
Getting your trademark
USA Warriors Ice Hockey Registration Refused – No Consent, No Coexistence
The Trademark Trial and Appeal Board refused to allow registration of a USA Warriors Ice Hockey Program mark for “arranging and conducting ice hockey programs for injured and disabled members and veterans”, finding the mark was too similar to a mark owned by USA Hockey, Inc. (see a comparison of the marks below). The Board
The Devil with Disclaimers for Descriptive Marks
This week, the Federal Circuit issued a new decision that once again reflects the tricky conundrum facing businesses whose trademarks are a collection of descriptive words.
In such circumstances, the Patent & Trademark Office – as well as the courts that review PTO decisions – frequently require such a business to “disclaim” any rights in
US TMs: Use ’em or Lose ’em
In the United States, unlike overseas, you get a lot of legal protection right away simply by coming up with a brand name and USING it to sell goods and services. USE is the crucial issue here.
This means that we trademark attorneys spend a lot of time thinking about how to prove that our
CARS Describe Not Just Automobiles? USPTO Cancels Applicant’s Registration of Automobile Data Collection Software
The word “cars” is a synonym for “automobiles” (go figure!). But in the field of “software for capturing road data and determining safe curve speeds for automobiles, as well as hardware for capturing telemetry and road data,” the word “cars” as a trademark impermissibly describes the goods and services in that field, according to the
No Love for DC!: USPTO Cancels I♥DC Registration for Failure to Function as a Trademark
When is a trademark not a trademark? When it no longer performs the source identification function for which it was adopted. In a recent decision of the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board of the United States Patent and Trademark Office, the Board cancelled the trademark registration (and refused a currently pending application) for the logo