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…
UPDATE: APRIL 28: The USPTO has updated its program which changes some of the information below regarding dates. Read more here. The US Patent and Trademark Office is allowing a 30-day extension to some trademark filing and fee deadlines missed…
UPDATE: APRIL 28: The USPTO has updated its program which changes some of the information below regarding dates during the coronavirus pandemic. Read more here. The US Patent and Trademark Office has made extensions available to filing, response, and fee…
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…