Trademarks

All you trademark lawyers better sit down, because this may come as a shock: You are not “intellectual property” lawyers . . . at least not according to Section 11 U.S.C. § 101(35A) of the Bankruptcy Code, which intentionally omits trademarks from the definition of “intellectual property.” Owing in part ... Read More

The USPTO refused registration of the mark FOUNDIT THEFT RECOVERY for "GPS tracking devices, namely, personal asset tracker, personal tracker, vehicle tracker" (THEFT RECOVERY disclaimed), finding it likely to cause confusion with the registered mark IFI I FOUND IT (in stylized form with design) for "electronic devices for locating and ... Read More

By Angela Peco Edited by Elissa D. Hecker GENERAL NEWS Historic Trump-Kim Summit in Singapore Ends with Mounting Questions About What Has Been Achieved President Trump hailed his meeting with Kim Jong-Un as a "big step back from nuclear catastrophe", but critics say he made too many concessions without receiving ... Read More

The Board sustained an opposition to registration of the mark SCOTTSDALE TAXI for "taxi transport" services [TAXI disclaimed], finding the mark to be "highly geographically descriptive" and lacking in acquired distinctiveness. Despite applicant's use of the alleged mark since 1994, its evidence of advertising and extent of use was inadequate ... Read More

United Trademark Holdings Inc. is attempting to trademark Rapunzel (and likely has plans for other fairy tale princess names) for its line of dolls. Law Professors Rebecca Curtin and Loletta Darden of Suffolk University Law School, along with help from Suffolk’s Intellectual Property and Entrepreneurship Clinic, filed an opposition to ... Read More

The United States today released a list of products imported from China to the US on which additional tariffs will be placed as a measure aimed at pressuring China to change its practices the US says force US companies to give up intellectual property and transfer technology. Some industries have ... Read More

Although Amazon is typically quick to reference its anti-counterfeit policy as proof of its commitment to weeding out inauthentic products from its retail platform, watchdog groups continue to point at major concerns regarding Amazon’s true intentions regarding the sale of counterfeits. Most recent among these is a press release issued ... Read More

The Board affirmed Section 2(d) refusals to register the mark DEAD BIRD BREWING COMPANY (standard characters) [BREWING COMPANY disclaimed] and the design mark shown below, for beer, in view of the registered mark DEADBIRD for wines. Applicant submitted evidence of several dozen registrations and uses of mark for beer owned ... Read More

The heads of the patent offices of China, Europe, Korea, Japan and the United States met today and declared artificial intelligence one of the top strategic priorities for them as a group. Other efforts included work on harmonising patent practices, the Global Dossier program, classification of new technologies, and patents ... Read More

Maybe it’s just because I am about to go on vacation with seven children under the age of 11 (and their parents), but it seems a lot of trademarks from my childhood have been making appearances in the news recently. Just last month, Hasbro, Inc. obtained a federal trademark registration ... Read More

The USPTO refused registration of the mark GAVIOTA, in standard character form, for “Luxury bathroom faucets; Water control valves for bathroom faucets; Plumbing fittings, namely, spouts for bathroom fixtures; Tub Spouts; Shower Heads; Handles for shower faucets; Plumbing fittings, namely, [and] shower control valves,” on the ground of likely confusion ... Read More

Indigenous peoples are losing their genetic resources and traditional knowledge and need to be involved in negotiations on World Trade Organization intellectual property rules and the UN Convention on Biological Diversity, representatives told a conference on the subject last week. In a podcast and video interview with Intellectual Property Watch ... Read More

In yet another decision involving the admissibility of Internet evidence, the Board made clear that its recent ruling in In re Mueller Sports Medicine [TTABlogged here] extends to trademark applicants as well as examining attorneys. In Mueller, the Board held that Internet evidence submitted by an examining attorney that did ... Read More

The former mayor of Munich, Christian Ude (Social Democratic Party), clashed with the new head of IT of the Bavarian capital over the city's re-migration from Linux to Microsoft at an event organised by the Green Party yesterday. ... Read More

I never paid a lot of attention to Flag Day, until the year that my daughter was born on June 14.  Now Flag Day is a special day for our family, and of course there is a lot of flag waving on Independence Day which comes hot on its ... Read More

The Board dismissed an opposition to registration of PIRATE PISS for "beer, ale and lager," finding that confusion is not likely with the registered mark PYRAT for "“distilled spirits” (and PYRAT RUM for “rum”). Opposer's evidence that beer and rum are related was inadequate, and its reliance on past Board ... Read More

Barbour, a UK apparel company, sells shirts with a ‘flag’ on the breast pocket: Levis sells apparel which has ‘tabs’ on the pockets.  It owns various registrations for the tab. Levis aggressively polices its tab trademarks.  It sent a demand letter to Barbour, alleging infringement and dilution.  Barbour ... Read More

By Jana S. Farmer Edited by Elissa D. Hecker SCOTUS Rules In Favor Of Colorado Baker But Reaffirmed Protection For Gay Rights The Supreme Court ruled that Jack Phillips, a Colorado baker who had refused to create a wedding cake for a gay couple, was improperly treated with hostility to ... Read More

In a precedential, ruling, the Board affirmed a Section 2(d) refusal of the mark 5IVE STEAKHOUSE & Design (below left) in view of the registered mark 5IVESTEAK (Stylized), both for "restaurant and bar services." Applicant's third-party registration evidence was unsatisfying, and its reliance on its prior registration of a similar ... Read More

Leaders at the G7 Summit tried to mitigate tensions by taking on some US favourites in their final communiqué like “forced technology transfers,” a topic brought up only recently by the United States at the World Trade Organisation. Forced technology transfers, according to US diplomats, are licensing and administrative rules ... Read More

In recent weeks, the U.S. romance publishing industry has been roiling over a trademark issue which has been less-than-affectionately referred to as Cockygate. According to various news reports, romance writer Faleena Hopkins has been asserting a trademark she registered with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office to prevent the use ... Read More

Johannes FuhrmannThe Fourth Board of Appeal (BoA) of the EUIPO has once again been told off by the General Court (GC). In its decision of 6 June 2018 (case T-803/16), the GC decided that the BoA was not competent to rule upon the question of genuine use of its own ... Read More

The USPTO refused registration of the mark SAVORY ROASTERS for "pet food; pet treats" [SAVORY disclaimed], deeming the mark likely to cause confusion with the registered mark HEARTY ROASTERS for "pet food." Applicant argued that ROASTERS is "clearly designed to be suggestive of the goods," and thus is not the ... Read More

Whether intellectual property rights are improving lives or whether they should be reined in by tools such as competition law to increase access to medicine, education, and innovation, was debated this week at the World Trade Organization committee on intellectual property. Also on the agenda was a suggestion by least-developed ... Read More

In a bit of a snoozer, the Board affirmed Section 2(d) refusals of the mark THE TROPICS for "providing foods and drinks; providing of food and drink via a mobile truck; restaurant; catering services" (class 43) and the words + design mark shown below for "entertainment services in the nature ... Read More

The European Union has filed a World Trade Organization dispute settlement complaint against China for unfair treatment of foreign intellectual property rights holders. The case follows a similar filing by the United States against China. ... Read More

A few years ago, before the 76ers returned to playoff glory, the NBA’s Philadelphia 76ers’ ownership and front office began utilizing the phrase “Trust the Process” to represent their journey back to the top. Finally, after years of absolutely horrendous basketball, which enabled the 76ers to draft stars such as ... Read More

Cannabis trademarks. By now, most IP lawyers know two things about them. First, even though cannabis is legal in an increasing number of states (9 allow recreational use; 29 allow medical use), the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) is refusing applications to federally register cannabis trademarks, no matter ... Read More

A report published today by the EU Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO) deplores rising volume of intellectual property rights infringement in both immaterial goods and digital content and warns against the economic effects for the Union. ... Read More

Falsified and substandard medical products continue to be a global concern, and how those products are characterised is important to avoid confusion, particularly with intellectual property rights infringement. A panel convened by Brazil, India and South Africa yesterday at the World Trade Organization looked at the implications of a new ... Read More