Our “On My Mind” Blog covers legal subjects we believe are useful, interesting and topical. The posts are short and non-technical in style. We mostly choose topics about trademark, copyright and patent matters, but we also cover topics concerning our other practice areas, including Customs & Regulatory Compliance, Commercial & Corporate, Trusts & Estates, and Employment Law, among others.
Articles: 21-30 of 79
On My Mind Blog: How to Succeed in Registering a Product Configuration Trademark in the U.S.
USA - April 23 2024 The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) generally refuses to register the configuration of a product as a…
A Term Used Solely as a Trade Name is Unregistrable as a Trademark in the U.S.
USA - March 5 2024 About nine years ago, we posted a blog about “How a company name can be a trademark.” Now, the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (TTAB) has again…
Adding a Word or Distinctive Design to a Mark Sometimes Can Avoid a Likelihood of Confusion
USA - January 10 2024 Many times, two marks have been found likely to be confused despite (1) the addition of a second word to the later mark (found not to overcome that…
How to Cancel a U.S. Trademark Registration for Abandonment
USA - November 29 2023 Now, a precedential decision by the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (TTAB) is instructive as to the reverse—how to cancel a U.S. registration for an…
How to Overcome a Trademark Application Refusal When the Identical Mark is Registered for Different Goods or Services -- Part 2
USA - November 15 2023 In a recent Blog post, we suggested steps you might take in an appropriate case to surmount a blocking mark that consists of a verbal element…
How to Overcome a Trademark Application’s Refusal When the Identical Mark was Registered for Different Goods or Services
USA - October 18 2023 When an existing trademark or service mark registration covers a mark identical or similar to your proposed mark, but the goods or services…
Doctrine of Foreign Equivalents May Not Apply to Marks Combining English and Non-English Words
USA - September 28 2023 A non-English language mark may preclude U.S. registration of an English mark having the same meaning, as we previously wrote. But this “doctrine of…
Musical Notes Played Over Retail Store Speakers Held a Registrable Trademark Used in a Display Associated with the Goods
USA - September 7 2023 There have been few applications to register a sound as a trademark for goods (as distinguished from a mark for services). In a precedential case…
Refuting a “Failure to Function” Refusal to Register a Trademark
USA - July 5 2023 The Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (TTAB) appears to have increased the standard of evidence to support a refusal to register a slogan as a…
U.S. requirements for establishing use of a trademark in commerce
USA - May 3 2023 Merely offering your goods under a trademark on a website or in a store is insufficient to support an allegation that you have used your trademark in…
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