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
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
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
On December 1, 2020, the TTAB continued its recent trend of decisions refusing to register marks on the ground of failure-to-function. In another precedential decision, the TTAB refused Applicant Lee Greenwood’s (“Greenwood”) application to register the phrase GOD BLESS THE USA for use in connection with “accent pillows; decorative centerpieces of wood” and
For the first time in nearly three years, the USPTO will be adjusting its fees for Trademark Registrations and for filing fees related to proceedings involving the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (TTAB). Some fee increases are minimal (e.g., only about 10% increase to file an ex parte appeal). However, other fee increases are substantial,
In a recent precedential decision, the United States Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (“TTAB”) affirmed an examining attorney’s failure-to-function refusal as respecting the standard character mark TEXAS LOVE, rejecting the applicant’s argument that the refusal violated the Equal Protection Clause of the U.S. Constitution by treating Texas citizens differently than citizens of Florida,
On October 27, 2020, the Federal Circuit affirmed a U.S. Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (“TTAB”) decision canceling Corcamore, LLC’s registration for the mark SPROUT. More specifically, the Federal Circuit concluded that the TTAB correctly found that the challenger to Corcamore’s registration had standing, even though the TTAB applied the incorrect legal standard,
On September 25, 2020, the TTAB issued a non-precedential decision summarily rejecting an applicant’s attack against an examining attorney’s refusal to register the mark NATURAL LEAF CBD LIVE BETTER NATURALLY & Design for use on and in connection with dietary and nutritional supplements infused with CBD hemp oil extracts. The examining attorney had refused registration