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February 6, 2025 Erik M Pelton & Associates, PLLC (EMP&A), a leading trademarklaw firm dedicated to protecting brands, is proud to announce the successful registration of U.S. The newly patented software enhances efficiency, accuracy, and client service by automating key aspects of the trademark management process.
Do they own trademarkregistrations of their own and practice what they preach? Do they educate others in the field of trademarks by teaching, providing webinars, or creating content? Do they use patent pending software that’s proprietary and developed for their clients? How much experience do they have?
The USPTO recently announced, via notice in the Federal Register , that it intends to issue electronic trademarkregistration certificates, and only will print physical certificates upon request and with a small fee ($25 per copy). EMP&A is a boutique trademarklaw firm located in Falls Church, Virginia. Introduction.
The Trademark Examining Attorney had refused registration on “failure-to-function” — concluding that the phrase was a commonplace expression used to express a well-recognized sentiment. Unlike patents and copyrights, trademarklaw is not designed to reward the creative endeavor of invention or authorship.
INTRODUCTION The time it can take to register a trademark can therefore take longer depending on several factors such as the jurisdiction to which it was processed, the materials that have been included in the application as well as whether there are opposing voices or objections prevailing over the trademark.
March 12, 2025) In an interesting trademark decision, the Federal Circuit has clarified that terms once considered generic do not necessarily remain permanently unregistrable. provides important guidance on genericness timing and addresses a question of first impression in trademarklaw.
Under Section 2(1)(zb) of the Act, any word, label, name, device, brand, ticket, signature, heading, letter, numeral, the shape of products, packaging, the combination of colors, or any combination thereof can be registered as a trademark if the same fulfills the criteria of distinctiveness and graphical representation. Final Thoughts.
For instance, in 2012 Kodak used its facial recognition patent, among its other IPs, as collateral when it was facing bankruptcy. The whole patent portfolio of the company, at the time of their auction, was reported at a whopping 2 billion USD in 2012! on banking regulations and its observations on the use of trademark as collateral.
As a result, the rise of hypersensitivity to religion, religious texts, and religious symbols determines the jurisprudence around the utilisation of such marks under Indian trademarklaw, even if they are not strictly prohibited. Lal Babu Priyadarshi [9]. DB) [9] AIR 2016 SC 461 [10] MANU/MH/1859/2017 [11] W.P.(C).
The company had been using the name for several years in the payday loan business, and in 2012 expanded into pawn shops and then filed for registration for that usage in 2013. The USPTO then granted the registrations associated with the new uses.
Supreme Court held 6-3 that the Ninth Circuit erred in invalidating a copyright registration for failure to comply with the Copyright Office’s “single unit of publication” regulation, where the copyright owner had knowledge of the facts but arguably misunderstood the legal standard. Legal Background: Registration. Unicolors, Inc.
However, unconventional trademarks challenge traditional concepts of visual representation, leading to significant complexities in their registration, protection, and enforcement. The Lanham Act in the United States allowed broader interpretations, recognizing sound marks as trademarks as early as 1978. John Distilleries Ltd.
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 … (e) Consists of a mark which (1) when used on or in connection with the goods of the applicant is merely descriptive or deceptively misdescriptive of them.
Global and Indian laws concerning smell trademarks. While several countries have allowed the registration of smell marks, laws concerning the registration of smell marks are largely inchoate. Thus, Court decisions and the USPTO have time and again granted the registration of smell marks.
A trademark application is submitted to the Trademark Office at the Industrial Property Directorate by the applicant if he is a national or resident in the Kingdom of Bahrain. Foreign applicants who are not resident in the Kingdom must apply through IP Registration Agents or law firms authorised by the Industrial Property Directorate.
The United States Patent and Trademark Office (“USPTO”) and the United States Copyright Office (“USCO”) delivered a report to Congress entitled Non-Fungible Tokens and Intellectual Property on March 12, 2024 (“Report”). While the Report is comprehensive, it does not recommend any new action to address IP issues with NFTs.
Even a mark that has been on the International Registry for 40 years does not assure registration of a subsequent national designation. On 12 January 2022, the Lithuanian Supreme Court upheld the rejection of the Lithuanian designation of Chanel SARL’s two-dimensional trademark (see below) in Class 3 for perfumery products.
underscored that there is a need to supervise or govern patent and trademark agents. This post discusses the case and argues that there already exists a mechanism under the Patent and trademarklaws that govern and supervise such agents.
The history of the federal trademarklaw is almost as old as the Constitution. On July 8, 1870, the Federal Trademark was enacted as the first US Federal law to protect the trademarks. In its place, a trademarklaw on March 3, 1881, was enacted that targeted the trademarks used in interstate commerce.
U’s registration for THE for clothing and other merchandise by putting THE on a hangtag. Registration v. Much of the law is a collection of rules of thumb from registration context. Hard to think coherently about TM status without thinking about registration v. Use=is it in fact being used by this party as a TM.
Mikos, Unauthorized and Unwise: The Lawful Use Requirement in TrademarkLaw, 75 Vanderbilt Law Review 161 (2022) Abstract: For decades, the United States Patent and Trademark Office (“PTO”) has required trademark owners to comply with sundry nontrademark laws governing the sale of their trademarked goods and services.
The integration of IoT-enabled designs and smart technologies adds another layer of complexity as the same would fall in the domain of patentlaw. Trademarking of a building s design is a significant step in branding and marketing. Trademarking of a building s design is a significant step in branding and marketing.
Coca-Cola stepped-in in 2016 seeking to cancel Meenaxi’s mark registrations. A case like this begins with the territorial doctrine of trademarklaw: Under the territoriality doctrine, a trademark is recognized as having a separate existence in each sovereign territory in which it is registered or legally recognized as a mark.
trademarkregistration for your trademark on goods or services for your business. Can your trademarkregistration be cancelled with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office based on it being invalid? Can you file anything to strengthen your trademarkregistration against invalidation?
Trademarks are valuable IP assets, but the manual registration process may seem inefficient with AI revolutionizing this landscape by employing advanced tools, automating key steps from search to examination.
Tech giant Apple has recently filed a lawsuit against the United States Patent and Trademark Office (“USPTO”) and Director Kathi Vidal over the Office’s refusal to register Apple’s “SMART KEYBOARD” trademark based on genericness. Apple asks the district court to require USPTO to approve its SMART KEYBOARD mark registration.
A critical issue to be addressed is whether these limited-edition products can get protection under Intellectual Property (IP) law, just as regular products do, and if yes, then which is the most appropriate form of IP Protection ? Protection for Limited Edition Products under TrademarkLaw. In essence: ‘use it or lose it.’
[Image Sources: Shutterstock] The primary legislative basis for smell trademark regulation in the US is the Lanham Act. Although scents are implicitly included in the Act’s protection of trademarks, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) has stringent procedures for scent trademarkregistration.
This blog delves into the essentials of trademark user affidavits, highlighting their significance, the information they must contain, and best practices for drafting them to ensure a successful registration process. This makes the Trademark User Affidavit an indispensable document in the registration process.
have long been a mix of state common law rights and federal statutory rights. Patents and copyrights were established in the Constitution and enacted by the First Congress in 1790. With trademarklaw, the federal right has been around since 1870 and today occupies most of the space. What do you think?
And the number of active trademarkregistrations in the USPTO database is larger than ever. Additionally, since late December 2021, when new procedures went into effect, the USPTO has received around 100 expungement petitions and about 100 re-examination petitions to get rid of registrations for marks that are allegedly not in use.
trademarkregistrations and have been involved in dozens of disputes before the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (“TTAB”). In addition to representing myriad small business trademark owners, EMP&A itself is a small business and the owner of more than a dozen U.S. trademarkregistrations.
Mikos takes the USPTO to task in his recent Vanderbilt Law Review article, "Unauthorized and Unwise: The Lawful Use Requirement in TrademarkLaw" (pdf here ). He charges that "[i]n demanding compliance with sundry nontrademark laws, the PTO has lost sight of the statute it is supposed to administer."
As a trademarklaw firm, we represent a wide array of clients but predominantly focus on helping small business owners protect their intellectual property. In recent years, trademark scams have proliferated and become increasingly problematic, particularly for small business owners. About Erik M. Pelton & Associates, PLLC.
If the title sounds familiar, you are part of the reason Booking.com successfully trademarked “Booking.com” while paving the way for owners of similar marks to receive trademark protection. The Decision. Justice Breyer disagreed with the majority’s decision, specifically (1) that placing “.com”
Therefore, the prime role of such hashtags needs to be assessed in line with the TrademarkLaw to deduce whether they qualify for trademark protection. Furthermore, it can help the proprietor prevent any third party from using the said hashtag incorporating a trademark in the course of trade to gain a commercial advantage.
registration requirements. Provisions of intellectual property law will be applicable to NFTs. Patent: Blockchain-related inventions can be protected as patents. Trademark: NFTs may also be protected as a trademark. Article 1(1) of Indonesia’s TrademarkLaw defines trademark.
Here is our recap of last week’s top IP developments including summaries of the posts on IPO’s patent application rejection of HIV drug Dolutegravir, another judgement in the long-running Section 3(k) saga, this time on the patentability of business methods and the DHC IPD’s Annual Report 2023-24. Anything we are missing out on?
Thou Shalt not Register Your Trade Union with a Name in the Likeness of My Trademark Reportedly, Samsung India is opposing the use of ‘Samsung’ in an application to register the trade union of it’s workers. It allowed the appeal and remanded the matter back to the Controller.
The Trademark Trial and Appeal Board decided against the opposer since the use of ‘Industry’ did not reflect a secondary meaning. It was submitted that 74 third-party registrations were existent, and the consumers did not associate with the brand as a household name. ’ trademark. Dish Pizza.’
Currently, most jurisdictions apply the Sieckmann Seven-Fold Test to assess whether unconventional marks , including smells, should be granted trademark protection. Deutsches Patent-und Markenamt and evaluates factors such as clarity, precision, objectivity, and intelligibility in the graphical representation of a mark.
On June 30, amidst the traditional flurry of end-of-term opinions, the Supreme Court issued its decision in the first case to have been argued before it via teleconference, United States Patent and Trademark Office et al. Yes, Booking.com can now obtain a federal trademarkregistration and can use the ® symbol with its mark.
Even though the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) does not currently allow federal trademarkregistration for goods or services that violate federal law, it does allow federal trademarkregistration for cannabis and cannabis-related goods and services if the use in commerce is lawful.
The design of Hershey’s cone-shaped small chocolate “Kisses” has been a registered trademark with the United States Patent and Trademarks Office (USPTO) since 1996. (“Cookie Department”) for copying Hershey’s famous Kisses shape.
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