Last month, Ben & Jerry’s filed a notice of opposition with the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (“TTAB”) against two applications seeking to register the trademark HALF-BAKED for bakery items that include cookies, brownies, and cakes, among other treats, as well as dessert beverages infused with coffee and chocolate. » Read More

Gaziantepli Habes Seyidoglu Baklavalari Uluslararasi Nakliyat ve San. Tic. Ltd. Sti. (“Petitioner”), a major manufacturer of food products in Turkey, filed a cancellation proceeding with the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (the “TTAB”) to cancel Nema Food Distribution Inc.’s (“Respondent”) trademark SEYIDOGLU for various food products, which the TTAB granted. » Read More

Scammers haven’t stopped sending our clients fake trademark renewal notices, bilking them of thousands of dollars. For this reason, I am posting an updated version of my original blog post, “Beware the Trademark Scammers,” to help you differentiate between legitimate reminders and the many trademark scams being perpetrated by those out to steal your money. » Read More

The Trademark Modernization Act of 2020 (“TMA”) was signed into law at the end of last year, and we recently provided an overview of three key provisions practitioners and trademark owners should know about. Earlier this month, the United States Patent and Trademark Office (“USPTO”) released a notice of proposed rulemaking setting forth the rules and procedures implementing two of those changes: the new proceedings to cancel registrations in whole or in part, and the changes to the time to respond to office actions. » Read More

One reason individuals and businesses register their trademarks before or shortly after they begin using the trademarked content commercially is that registration provides legal protection from other parties trying to benefit financially from the trademark owner’s ideas without their consent. Legal remedies available to the trademark owner include bringing the issue before the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (TTAB) of the United States Patent and Trademark Office and filing a lawsuit in civil court. » Read More

In December, the Trademark Modernization Act of 2020 (“TMA”) was signed into law. A bipartisan bill, the TMA contains several important trademark law reforms, including clarification of the burden that parties must satisfy to obtain an injunction in an infringement claim. » Read More

In In re IGT, the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (TTAB) affirmed the Examiner’s refusal to register geometric shapes used in the applicant’s gaming machines.

While the decision does not offer anything new or surprising from a trademark perspective, it is a good example of the challenges in obtaining trademark registrations for geometric shapes, especially if the shapes are used merely as borders for information or as background. » Read More

I’ve been practicing long enough to know that it’s not easy for my clients to find brands they like, much less ones that are free for them to use without worrying they will get a claim that they’ve violated another party’s rights.  » Read More

Danielle DeFilippis and Jeanne Hamburg were delighted to welcome attendees from the food and restaurant industries, as well as service providers to those industries, to a seminar on Thursday, November 15, in the firm’s New York office.  The presentation covered a wide array of legal issues, from the trademark clearance and registration process, to trade dress production for product design and restaurant décor, to important contracts involving trademarks, to enforcing trademark rights on social media.  » Read More

In a blog post earlier this year, I wrote about the legal haze in seeking U.S. trademark registrations for trademark owners of cannabis-related goods and services.  While seeking federal trademark registration is undoubtedly challenging, the hurdles are not a complete bar to registration.  » Read More