The United States Patent and Trademark Office’s Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (the Board) recently denied a trademark applicant’s Motion for Summary Judgment seeking to throw out an opposer based on lack of standing. This case serves as a great reminder of how low the bar is for standing to oppose trademark registration. In this… READ MORE

The United State Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) allows individuals to register domain names as trademarks under certain circumstances. This can be valuable for online entities because while domain names are protected against theft and cybersquatting, a domain name that is a registered trademark would also receive powerful federal trademark protection. Generally, a domain name… READ MORE

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… READ MORE

Communities with a cohesive tourism brand are able to broadcast a consistent message about their region, businesses, and natural wonders to lure visitor dollars into its area. This task often falls on regional or local tourism nonprofits and organizations. Trademark law provides a method for these organizations to foster a consistent brand message: the certification… READ MORE

Discussed here, a certification mark can be a valuable tool for regional nonprofits and quasi-governmental agencies to build brand awareness. This post focuses on some of the more technical aspects of obtaining and owning a certification mark. Owners of certified marks have five main obligations to ensure approval and continued registration of their certification mark…. READ MORE

Clients often ask us how they can avoid trademark infringement when selecting a brand identity and selling products. Avoiding trademark infringement is actually fairly easy. All it takes is a little work on the front end to avoid numerous potential problems on the back end. Trademark infringement frequently occurs when a new business fails to… READ MORE

Trademarks identify the source of goods or services. They serve to protect the public by reducing confusion in the marketplace regarding the person or company providing the goods or services. For example, if the corner gas station was permitted to slap a national coffee chain’s logo on its cups, the public would assume that coffee to be… READ MORE

Chicago State University (“CSU”) has threatened legal action against a blog run by CSU faculty members if it is not disabled. CSU alleges the blog uses trademarks and trade names without CSU authorization. Since then, while the blog is still active (see, http://csufacultyvoice.blogspot.com/), it has changed its name and image. Active since 2009, the blog… READ MORE

The Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals held that a manufacturer’s trade dress infringement claim against a competitor fails because there is no likelihood of confusion between the two parties’ goods. The court noted that trademark law is designed to promote brand recognition, not deter lawful competition. Trade dress is the design and shape of the… READ MORE

IS YOUR BRAND PROTECTED? No more excuses. Hire a trademark attorney today. According to recent research by two UNC law professors Gerhardt and McClanahan, inexperienced trademark applicants that filed for trademark registration without a lawyer only had their trademarks published 57% of the time. Experienced trademark lawyers, however, successfully published their clients’ trademarks 83% of the… READ MORE