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….
Trademark applications frequently are filed and then need to be amended slightly. Changing a trademark can be straightforward. Sometimes these amendments are to change the identification of goods or services for the application, or to change the way the mark…
A trademark application which is filed on an intent-to-use basis always presents slight risks since the application is filed before the owner has begun using the trademark and before the owner knows 100% how the trademark will be used. There…
Unfortunately, no. Amazon Brand Registry 2.0 only accepts registered trademarks. There are two types of trademarks: common law trademarks and registered trademarks. These two categories are not at all mutually exclusive; a common law trademark can become a registered trademark,…