Trademarking Domain Names In a win for a business owner, the Supreme Court recently held that a company’s website which used a .com ending was protectable as a trademark, reversing the decision of the trademark office. Booking.com had attempted to register its domain, Booking.com and the USPTO rejected the application claiming it was generic. The Read more about Trademark Office looses Challenge, Website Owner Gets Trademark[…]
Christmas Counterfeiting As a result of Christmas Counterfeiting, a business’s goodwill and its good cheer can go down the drain this holiday season. This Christmas, counterfeiting is an issue because many of us are purchasing holiday presents online without ever seeing the products or the sellers. Over 80% of all consumer products were purchased online Read more about How to Protect Goodwill and Good Cheer During the Holidays[…]
Strong Trademarks Creating a strong brand is an integral aspect of forming a new business. Businesses using historical trademarks help create a strong brand. A historical trademark is a brand which includes a historical term. Generally, the historical term in a historical trademark has some historical significance. A brand name which includes a famous person’s Read more about Historical Trademarks are Good for Strong Branding[…]
Trademarking Governmental Symbols Trademark Law protects a business from unlawful competition by preventing consumer confusion. Trademarks can be a word, symbol, phrase, sound, scent, packaging or look and feel used to distinguish a particular manufacturer’s or seller’s products from the products of another. Generally, trademarks make it easier for consumers to identify the source of Read more about Trademarking Images of Uncle Sam[…]
The U.S. Supreme Court recently ruled that previously rejected trademark registrations which were refused as being immoral or scandalous violates the First Amendment.
There are typically only three ways to prove consumer confusion and Consumer Surveys are typically the most helpful.
Intellectual Property Law Update Patent Congress released a draft of proposed patent legislation to address the ongoing problem with Subject Matter Rejections, namely, 101 Rejections. The proposed new patent law proposes that patents should be awarded to: Whoever invents or discovers any useful process, machine, manufacture, or composition of matter, or any useful improvement thereof, may Read more about Intellectual Property Updates[…]
Registering a Trademark Trademarks are protected under state, federal and common law based on proof of actual use of the particular word, phrase, style, design, color, smell or sound. Registration provides several important benefits, including the ability to obtain monetary damages and certain presumptions after a period of time on the principal registry. Federal registration Read more about Registering a Trademark used in Commerce[…]
Simon Tam, lead singer of the Asian-American rock group “The Slants,” chose the derogatory term intentionally. Tam wanted to reclaim the racial slur and turn it into a name to be proud of. However, the Patent and Trademark Office (PTO) denied registration, calling the group’s mark “disparaging” under trademark law. On June 19, 2017, the Read more about SCOTUS: ‘The Slants’ Trademark Gets First Amendment Protection[…]