On Friday, February 15th, a number of new specimen rules governing trademark applications went into effect. All trademark applications, and all correspondence in trademark applications and registrations, must now be filed electronically expect in limited circumstances. The Trademark Office had…
Sonos pioneered wireless multi-room audio in the early 2000s and first brought consumer products to the market in 2005. Now it has taken on a juggernaut in smart home technology. The battle highlights the need for – and difficulty of…
The Supreme Court has recently ruled, in Peter v. Nantkwest, Inc., that in appeals from proceedings at the Patent Office, the patent applicant will not be responsible for the attorney fees of the Patent Officer’s which cover the costs of…
Earlier this month, the Trademark Office refused a clothing trademark application to register the word THE. The trademark application was filed by the Ohio State University. Some people have inaccurately seen this as grab by OSU to lock down all…
Many say cannabis is the next “Wild West.” Although a convenient metaphor, it is not entirely appropriate. Expansion into the American West was full of risk, speculation, and fraud. The growth of the cannabis industry has been continuous and risky,…
Years ago, I wrote about international trademark protection, which can be obtained either by directly filing trademark applications through foreign counsel or by filing a centralized trademark application for an International Registration, through the Madrid Protocol. These two routes for…
About two months ago, the US Patent and Trademark Office proposed a rule change for representation of foreign trademark applicants. The rule would affect trademark applicants, registrants, or parties to a proceeding such as an opposition or cancellation, whose domicile…
Trademark registration may be available to marks used on software in beta testing. A number of factors affect this determination.
Nearly a month into the government shutdown, the United States Patent and Trademark Office continues to run at full capacity. The Patent Office is somewhat self-funded, in that the fees that applicants pay to file and prosecute patent applications are…
Occasionally, there will be a need to divide a trademark application to divide a portion of it out of the application. Dividing an application removes, but does not delete, the identified portion and creates a new application on that portion….