Category: Trademark

A “trade name” is generally defined as the name under which a business operates. A trademark, on the other hand, is a word, phrase, symbol, logo, or other visual or audio device that identifies the commercial source of goods or services. Because so many businesses trademark their trade names, there is a significant overlap between […]

Trademarks are valuable business assets that drive sales, create consumer loyalty that drives repeat business, and allow businesses to easily expand into new markets, niches, platforms, and products. Just like traditional businesses, e-commerce businesses need trademarks, and it is beneficial to hire trademark lawyers who also have deep knowledge and understanding of the e-commerce “space” […]

In the U.S., at the federal level, the Lanham Act is the main statute that governs trademark rights. Among the most important trademark rights that are protected is the right to exclusive use. That is, the Lanham Act prohibits infringement of a valid trademark by others. There has long been a legal debate about the […]

If you are thinking of creating, using, and registering a trademark, early in the process, you will need to conduct a trademark search to ensure that your proposed trademark is not already in use and not already registered. Likewise, you will need to conduct a search to ensure that your proposed trademark is not confusingly […]

Trademark licensing can create valuable revenue streams for your business. Licensing has the advantage that your business retains possession of the trademark and can create more than one licensing regime over the life of your business. Licensing is also a method of expanding the reach (and value) of your trademark without the need to invest […]

A “trademark disclaimer statement” is part of an application for registering a trademark that is filed with the U.S. Trademark Office. There is a specific section of the application that is provided for disclaimers. The statement is itself rather simple: “No claim is made to the exclusive right to use “________” apart from the mark […]

There are valid trademarking strategies for cannabis-related businesses. While you cannot trademark your cannabis — the specific product — at the federal level, you CAN trademark your cannabis at the State level and, at the federal level, you CAN trademark everything related to your cannabis. Indeed, at the federal level, it is important to register […]

Trademarks can last literally forever, at least as long as commerce exists. There are some trademarks that have been in use for hundreds of years. Some trademarks currently in use in the U.S. are over 100 years old. Examples include John Deer, Coca-Cola, and others. We must distinguish between the trademarks themselves and the registration […]

The main reason that trademark holders must enforce and protect their trademark rights is that, without enforcement/protection, the trademark itself can be destroyed, and trademark rights will cease to exist. This can occur in two ways: destruction of the functioning of the trademark as a trademark and genericide. Genericide is when a trademark becomes, in […]

The Official Gazette is a publication — now online — issued by the US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). The Official Gazette is used by the Trademark Office to publish proposed trademarks “to the world” so that other trademark owners — and/or others — might oppose the registration of the proposed trademark. This is called […]