In a precedential decision earlier this year, the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board thinned some of the haze surrounding the registrability of trademarks for hemp-derived CBD products. In line with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office guidelines issued last year, the Board confirmed that marks continue reading...
On April 8, 2020, the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit issued a decision on an appeal from the refusal of registration of a color trademark by the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board. In this case, the applicant, Forney Industries, Inc., a maker of continue reading...
In 2005, Christian Faith Fellowship Church, a Chicago-based church group, filed two trademark applications for the mark ADD A ZERO for use on clothing, including shirts and caps that they later sold to raise money for charity. One application was for a standard continue reading...
Two recent decisions from the Western District of North Carolina in Winestore Holdings LLC v. Justin Vineyards & Winery LLC provide a tasting of the requirements for bringing a declaratory judgment action for non-infringement of a trademark in federal court. The Court in Winestore held continue reading...
According to a recent ESPN report, Los Angeles Lakers basketball player LeBron James made “IT’S TACO TUESDAY” T-shirts to promote his video posts of his family’s taco nights. He then sought a trademark registration for the phrase for use on T-shirts and other goods. Unfortunately continue reading...
Most opposition proceedings in the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board of the USPTO settle before final judgment, often based on a negotiated settlement agreement requiring the abandonment of the opposed application. In these circumstances, will judgment be entered against the applicant and in favor of continue reading...
Earlier this year the United States Patent and Trademark Office proposed a rule requiring foreign-domiciled trademark applicants, registrants, and parties to Trademark Trial and Appeal Board Proceedings to be represented by licensed U.S. attorneys. Following public comments, the PTO issued the final rule on July continue reading...
Many practitioners take for granted the fact that any TTAB deadlines that fall on a Saturday, Sunday or Federal holiday are automatically extended to the following business day. As it turns out, this isn’t always the case. A recent decision on a Petition to the continue reading...
Recently, the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit vacated and remanded to the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board a decision on an ex parte appeal regarding a likelihood of confusion between the applicant’s mark GUILD MORTGAGE COMPANY & Design for mortgage banking services and a continue reading...
The U.S. Supreme Court’s blockbuster rulings in Bell Atlantic Corp. v. Twombly and Ashcroft v. Iqbal represented a major shift in federal pleading standards. Resolution of motions to dismiss frequently turns on whether a complaint meets Twombly’s so-called “plausibility” standard. In the context of a continue reading...
Jeffrey CadwellJeff advises clients on the availability, registrability, and stre...
Michael KeyesJ. Michael Keyes is an intellectual property attorney with exten...
Kaleb McNeelyAs a partner in the Trial Group, Kaleb practices primarily in the ...
Sarah RobertsonSarah has over fifteen years’ experience helping clients prot...
Fara SunderjiFara assists clients in the development and execution of all type...
Charlene KroghCharlene Krogh is a Partner in Dorsey’s top-ranked Tradem...
Evan EveristEvan is a partner in Dorsey’s Trademark, Copyright and Adverti...
