Category: Trademark

Yes, as long as the proposed trademark meets the other requirements for registration. U.S. trademark laws do not require that only the English language can be used for trademarks. However, whatever the language, trademarks must meet the legal requirements, including functionality, distinctiveness, uniqueness, etc. For example, every trademark must function as a trademark in that […]

Without question, there are famous brands and trademarks that are global in their reach. The examples are nearly endless. Soft drinks like Coca-Cola and Pepsi, luxury brands like Tiffany and Gucci, restaurants like McDonald’s and Starbucks, and many more. When we speak of “brands,” we are, of course, speaking in terms of trademarks. Despite the […]

Anyone who follows college football probably knows about the Nico and Madden Iamaleava sagas. Nico Iamaleava was a 2024-25 playoff star quarterback for Tennessee with a Name, Image and Likeness (“NIL”) package worth $2.4 million, but ultimately unhappy. He announced on April 20, 2025, that he would be transferring to the UCLA Bruins (which, incidentally, […]

As reported here, the owner of the trademark SPOTIFY successfully opposed the registration of two trademarks involving the word mark POTIFY. Here are a few of the legal lessons we learned. A registered trademark is not needed to file a USPTO Opposition The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office routinely publishes proposed trademarks for review by […]

Protecting your trademarks from infringement is necessary to ensure that your trademarks, first, remain YOUR trademarks and, second, remain functioning as trademarks. It does not happen too often, but occasionally, a trademark left unpoliced will end up being canceled legally, which allows a competitor to begin using the trademark. A more common problem is genericide. […]

Almost every State in the country now allows student athletes to participate in marketing and financial exploitation of their name, image and likeness (“NIL”). This has allowed athletes to monetize their college (and even high school) sports careers. In addition to allowing an athlete to profit from their NIL, most newly enacted State laws allow […]

Essentially, the answer is “no.” The only real thing that can be changed is the scale of a trademark. But, it must look the same whether it is a half an inch tall or 10 feet tall. And, in truth, you should not WANT to change your trademark since changing it diminishes its functioning as […]

Name, image, and likeness (“NIL”) contracts are agreements between a student-athlete and a business or organization that permit an athlete to monetize their celebrity status. The basic exchange is money or things of value to the athlete and the right granted to the business/organization, from the athlete, to use the athlete’s name, image, and/or likeness […]

One legal requirement for registering a trademark in the U.S. is that the new proposed trademark be unique for the associated trademark Class. This means that the proposed trademark cannot be the same as OR confusingly similar to an existing registered trademark for the associated trademark Class. The trademark Class matters because it is possible […]

Under U.S. Trademark law, there is no legal limit to the number of words or characters that can be considered a “phrase” for trademark purposes. So, in theory, you could try to register a trademark for a 100-character phrase. And, occasionally, over the years, applicants have tried to register trademarks with very long phrases. In […]