A trademark can sometimes be rejected if it is ornamental. This most frequently occurs when the goods are clothing, as I have written before. If your mark is rejected on this basis, there are few escape paths. Secondary source may…
Student athletes will now be allowed to profit from their performance and influence. Until this year, the NCAA prohibited college students from making money for playing sports. However, this month, Florida began allowing students to benefit financially from their performance…
Trademarks are fundamentally about preventing confusion regarding the source of a product or service. Consumers who encounter two similar trademarks in the marketplace might mistakenly believe that the products come from the same source. This can allow one company to…
The US Patent and Trademark Office processes trademark applications in the order in which they are received. Before 2020, that led to wait time of about 3 months before an application would be substantively reviewed by a trademark Examiner. This…
I don’t write about current political events, but I’ve been pressured into writing this post because of its significance with respect to trademark law. Trademarks are fundamentally about protecting the public. Yes, trademarks can become valuable assets for big business,…
In October, the Patent and Trademark Office raised most of its patent-related fees. Now, the other side of the building is raising its fees on trademark actions. The changes will become effective January 2, 2021. As with patent fees, these…
Knockout searches are searches run before filing a trademark application to assess, primarily, the viability of obtaining a registration on that trademark. Whether you can use the mark is actually a slightly different question from whether you can register it,…
Trademark applications in the US can be based on use, an intent-to-use, or a foreign trademark application. When a trademark application has been previously filed outside the US, for certain entities there are ways to enter the US based on…
The CARES Act gave the US Patent and Trademark Office the authority to toll, waive, adjust, or modify deadlines related to patent and trademark owners in light of the coronavirus pandemic. At the end of March, the USPTO announced it…
About two months ago, the Trademark Office announced entities would have to begin disclosing their personal email addresses in trademark applications and trademark registrations. I joined almost 200 trademark attorneys in protest of this rule. We argued that it would…