Category: Trademark

It is a common belief that obtaining a domain name insulates the owner from trademark infringement lawsuits. This is not true. For instance, acquiring AOL.net does not shield the owner from a trademark infringement lawsuit brought by American Online, as AOL is trademarked. In essence, federal trademark law trumps any granting of a domain name […]

Establishing Corporate Trademark Procedures Because trademarks can be so valuable to a corporation, it is essential for companies to implement internal procedures aimed at protecting those marks. These procedures should govern the creation, registration, and defending of the corporation’s trademarks. Selecting the mark IP managers should have a solid understanding of the trademark process. That […]

An interesting 24 hours for Tony Magee saw the Lagunitas Brewing Company founder file a trademark infringement lawsuit in federal court, catch some flack via social media regarding the validity and motivations of the suit, and eventually announce via Twitter that the suit would be pulled. Apparently the court of public opinion delivered a strong […]

We at Revision Legal love craft beer–especially Michigan craft beer, which is why we were incredibly excited to contribute to the crowdfunding campaign of our clients and friends at Rare Bird Brewpub in Traverse City, Michigan. Revision Legal has been proud to help Rare Bird, owned by partners Tina Schuett and Nate Crane, through the formation […]

ABC 7 out of San Francisco reports that McDonalds has filed a new intent to use trademark for “Lovin’ is Greater Than Hatin’.” And while a major corporation’s trademark filing is not necessarily news, it does demonstrate the importance of an intent to use trademark to corporate expansion strategy. An intent to use trademark allows […]

The craft beer business is often a tight-knit group, with friends starting businesses and hiring other friends. But as a brewery grows, the business becomes more than a small endeavor things become real. Disagreements arise, decisions need to be made, and sometimes your friends have opportunities to start their own businesses. Key employees leaving your […]

Trademark Law 101   A trademark can be a word, phrase, logo, or combination of the three. This “mark” serves a specific purpose: it identifies the source of goods or services. The purpose of trademark law is to avoid consumer confusion.   When you use an inherently distinctive mark “in commerce,” you automatically obtain trademark […]

  (a) Marks registerable In addition to the principal register, the Director shall keep a continuation of the register provided in paragraph (b) of section 1 of the Act of March 19, 1920, entitled “An Act to give effect to certain provisions of the convention for the protection of trademarks and commercial names, made and […]

Trademark applicants often receive office actions denying their applications for trademark registration under Section 2(e)(1) of the Lanham Act. Under this section, an application for trademark registration can be denied on the basis that the mark “when used on or in connection with the goods of the applicant is merely descriptive… of them.” Merely descriptive […]

  No trademark by which the goods of the applicant may be distinguished from the goods of others shall be refused registration on the principal register on account of its nature unless it– (a) Consists of or comprises immoral, deceptive, or scandalous matter; or matter which may disparage or falsely suggest a connection with persons, […]