Trademarks

This defamation suit involves a gun-control editorial published by the NY Times, which argued that a “link to political incitement was clear” between an ad circulated by Sarah Palin’s PAC depicting a map of congressional districts with a crosshair over certain ‘targeted’ districts, and the shooting of Congresswoman Gabby Giffords’, ... Read More

A divided Board panel reversed a Section 2(d) refusal of MINIBAR SMARTSNAX for packaged snack food "for distribution through refrigerators and food storage cabinets having sensors to detect presence and removal of packages." The panel majority found no likelihood of confusion with the marks SMART SNACKS for candy and THE ... Read More

98% Increase in Trademark Examinations this Week, 19 Trademark Registration Certificates Granted this Week and more. These statistics have been compiled from the official journal of the trademark office published weekly on Mondays. INDIAN TRADEMARK STATISTICS Last week, the Indian Trademark Office had a productive week. The total number of ... Read More

In an opinion of just over seven pages, the Board affirmed a Section 2(e)(1) refusal to register CONSERVATIVE INSTITUTE for providing on-line information if the fields of politics class 35), entertainment (class 41), and religion (class 45). Applicant feebly pointed to two existing registrations for marks containing the word CONSERVATIVE, ... Read More

No OYO for Infringer, Cartoon Network Becomes Eco-friendly, Facebook’s Current Shock over Cryptocurrency and more, brought to you by the Trademark Attorneys at BananaIP (BIP) Counsel. TRADEMARK QUOTE OF THE WEEK “A brand is the set of expectations, memories, stories and relationships that, taken together, account for a consumer’s decision ... Read More

Finding that the purported word+design mark shown below is "merely an ornamental or informational feature" of Applicant Steven Schalk's "bumper stickers," the Board affirmed a failure-to-function refusal under Sections 1, 2, and 45 of the Trademark Act. In re Schalk, Serial No. 86183499 (October 10, 2019) [not precedential] (Opinion by ... Read More

Jeffrey H. BrochinSingle display of trademark on race car and jumpsuit did not establish intent to use the mark for the registered product. In a non-precedential decision, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit has affirmed a decision of the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (TTAB) that the ... Read More

By Eric Lanter Edited by Elissa D. Hecker Below, for your browsing convenience, the categories are divided into: Entertainment, Arts, Sports, Media, and General News Entertainment Tina Tchen, Ex-Obama Aide, Will Take Over Time's Up The advocacy organization Time's Up announced this week that Tina Tchen, former chief of ... Read More

If you’re familiar with Banksy, you know he’s the epitome of counterculturalism. For those of you who aren’t familiar with Banksy, he is an anonymous England-based street artist, vandal, political activist, and film director who has been active since the 1990s. His satirical street art and subversive epigrams combine graffiti ... Read More

A TTAB judge once told me that in 95% of Section 2(d) cases, one can predict the outcome just from looking at the marks and the involved goods/services. Here are three recent decision in Section 2(d) appeals. How do you think these came out? [Answer in first comment].In re Brite ... Read More

Despite applicant's 40 years of use of the phrase "THE VITAMIN SHOPPE," the Board affirmed four refusals to register the mark THE VITAMIN SHOPPE & V Design (in four variations) for vitamins and related retail store services, due to applicant's failure to comply with a requirement for disclaimer of that ... Read More

The USPTO refused to register the mark RAINFOREST NUTRITION for dietary and nutritional supplements [NUTRITION disclaimed], finding a likelihood of confusion with the registered mark RAINFOREST ANIMALZ for "nutritional supplements." The goods overlap and presumably travel in the same trade channels to the same classes of consumers. But what about ... Read More

GrabOn Wins over GrabOnRent, Powerpuff Girls in New Avatar, Facebook’s Domain Dispute Win and more, brought to you by the Trademark Attorneys at BananaIP (BIP) Counsel. TRADEMARK QUOTE OF THE WEEK “A great brand starts with a hero product” – Andy Dunn INDIAN TRADEMARK UPDATES GrabOn Shuts Up GrabOnRent GrabOn, ... Read More

These statistics have been compiled from the official journal of the trademark office published weekly on Mondays. INDIAN TRADEMARK STATISTICS Last week, the Indian Trademark Office has had a decrease in its work pace. The total number of hearing notices issued has decreased by sixty percent (60%). Similarly, the total ... Read More

The USPTO refused to register the mark INTEGRATED PERFORMANCE CARE SYSTEMS for, inter alia, chiropractic services [CARE SYSTEMS disclaimed], finding a likelihood of confusion with the registered word+design mark shown below, for chiropractic services. Applicant Donald Dudley appealed. Did Dudley do right? In re Donald Dudley, Serial No. 87655327 (October ... Read More

Louise Thorning AhleAn efficient, reliable and cost-effective route for protecting trademarks globally through the Madrid Agreement or the Madrid Protocol will be beneficial for IP-right holders. For a period of five years from the date of the international registration, the protection resulting from the international registration remains dependent on the ... Read More

By Angela Peco Edited by Elissa D. Hecker Below for your convenience are topics from Entertainment, Arts, Sports, Media, and General News Entertainment Copyright Suit Against Jerry Seinfeld is Dismissed U.S. District Court Judge Alison Nathan ruled that the lawsuit against Jerry Seinfeld was barred under the 3-year statute of ... Read More

Denying Respondent Tru Development's abandonment counterclaim, the Board granted Petitioner Double Coin's petition for cancellation of a registration for the mark ROAD WARRIOR for tires, finding a likelihood of confusion with the registered mark WARRIOR, in the stylized form shown below, for automobile tires. Tru was unable to prove nonuse ... Read More

By Naomi Owolabi Transformative art (often defensed under fair use), is the newest court-created exception to the use of copyrighted works. Transformation allows someone to use someone else's work without authorization. The concept is based on the idea that if the 'purpose and character' is transformed by the use, then ... Read More

PAVE: Promoting Awareness, Victim Empowerment filed a Section 1(b) application to register the mark SafeBAE for “Providing emotional counseling and emotional support services for victims of sexual violence." Shael Norris opposed, claiming that she is the owner of the mark and therefore that the opposed application was void ab initio. ... Read More

Thursday, October 17, 2019 2:00 - 5:00 p.m. - Program (3.5 hours of CLE credit, professional practice) 5:00 - 6:00 p.m. - Networking Reception co-sponsored by and to take place at UBS, 200 Park Avenue (Met Life Building at Grand Central), 18th floor To Register: http://www.nysba.org/store/events/registration.aspx?event=EASLFA19 ENTERTAINMENT FINANCE Money In, ... Read More

September 30th was the last day of the USPTO fiscal year. Here are three of the five TTAB decisions issued on that day in Section 2(d) appeals. I'm not giving any hints, so you're on your own. How do you think these appeals came out? [Answer in first comment].In re ... Read More

MTR Badam Drink’s Hot Win Against Counterfeiters, Srivilliputtur Palkova Gets GI Tag, Apple in Trouble over Memoji and more, brought to you by the Trademark Attorneys at BananaIP (BIP) Counsel. INDIAN TRADEMARK UPDATES MTR Badam Drink’s Hot Win Against Counterfeiters MTR Foods, a well-known FMCG in India since 1924, is ... Read More

These statistics have been compiled from the official journal of the trademark office published weekly on Mondays. INDIAN TRADEMARK STATISTICS Last week, the Indian Trademark Office have had a decrease in its work pace. The total number of hearing notices issued has decreased by thirty seven percent (37%). Similarly, the ... Read More

The TTAB affirmed a refusal to register the packaging design shown below, for "socks," finding the design to be generic for the goods because consumers would primarily regard the design as a common type of packaging rather than as a source indicator. The Board also considered and rejected Applicant Odd ... Read More

By Lisa Ornest Edited by Elissa D. Hecker Below, for your browsing convenience, the categories are divided into: Entertainment, Arts, Sports, Media, and General News Entertainment Is There a Bustle in Your Hedgerow? This case was filed in 2014, but an en banc retrial was set to go before the ... Read More

Standing is a hurdle that TTAB plaintiffs almost always clear. Not this time. The Board dismissed this petition for cancellation of a registration for the mark OCALA HORSE PROPERTIES for “Real estate agencies; Real estate brokerage" because the named petitioner failed to establish "that it is a juristic association under ... Read More

The Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (Tee-Tee-Ā-Bee) has scheduled seven (7) oral hearings for the month of October 2019. Four of the hearings will be held in the East Wing of the Madison Building, in Alexandria, Virginia. The first hearing listed below will be held at Northwestern Pritzker School of ... Read More

Michal HavlikThe Czech Supreme Court issued a judgment in the case of Fiskars Corporation against Mountfield a.s. (23 Cdo 5955/2017-231 dated 29 May 2019). Fiskars sued Mountfield, a home improvement and gardening retailer, among others, for trademark infringement consisting in illegal parallel imports from North America to the EU of ... Read More

Plaintiff uses the GORILLA PLAYSETS mark for outdoor play-sets. Defendant sold GORILLA GYM indoor exercise equipment, such as a pull-up bar, however it included accessories for children (such as ‘trapezes’). Plaintiff sues and defendant was enjoined from selling infringing play-sets. The injunction did not set out time-frames for compliance. Defendant, ... Read More