What is a Service Mark?
A few weeks ago, I wrote an article “What is a Trademark?” This week, I discuss service marks. Service marks are incredibly simple to understand. A service mark is exactly the same as a trademark, but it is for services,…
What is a Trademark?
I have written a lot of blog posts over the last 15 years or so. A lot of these posts are on very specific issues that come up infrequently. Quite a few of them are on obscure topics. But I…
Intent-to-Use Trademarks
An intent-to-use trademark application is an application that claims a company has an intent to use a trademark on products or services before it actually has launched those products or services. Trademarks are valuable assets for businesses. They protect brand…
Understanding Certification Trademarks: A Comprehensive Guide
Certification trademarks play a vital role in today’s competitive market, helping consumers make informed choices and businesses establish trust and credibility. Here, I delve into the world of certification trademarks, exploring what they are, how they work, what their significance…
Trademark Scam Spoofs Trademark Office Phone Numbers
The Trademark Office just issued a warning this week about a new trademark scam. Trademark scams are nothing new; trademark owners have for years received mailings that appear to be from the Trademark Office but are from scam companies instead…
How To Sign A Trademark Filing
Sometimes clients are confused about how to sign a trademark filing like a trademark application or response to a non-final or final office action. When we prepare a trademark application, we send it to the client for review and electronic…
What happens when a trademark owner dies?
When a trademark owner dies, there can be uncertainty in who owns the trademark or whether the trademark is even still valid and subsisting. There is always an owner of a trademark, usually a company but sometimes an individual. No…
Changing the Applicant Name in a Trademark Application
In the past year, I have dealt with one issue more times than I have in the previous ten years of practice: correcting or changing the applicant name in a trademark application during prosecution. Apparently trademark applicants are mis-identifying themselves…
Rubik’s Cube Intellectual Property
In honor of the Rubik’s Cube craze that has recently hit the Galvani household, we decided to take a closer look at how this iconic toy was created and what type of intellectual property protection it has enjoyed over the…
Office Action Response Deadline Change
Trademark owners will soon have a shorter office action response deadline. Beginning December 3, 2022, the Trademark Office will cut the normal six-month response period to just three months. When a trademark application undergoes examination, the Trademark Office sends an…