On June 9, 2017, Gene Simmons of Kiss rock band fame applied with the United States Patent and Trademark Office (“PTO”) to register the following mark for “Entertainment, namely, live performances by a musical artist; personal appearances by a musical artist” in Class 41: continue reading...
The Lanham Act prohibits registration on the Principal Register of a mark that is “primarily merely a surname” unless an applicant can show that the mark has acquired secondary meaning such that consumers perceive the surname as an identifier of source. 15 U.S.C. § 1052(e)(4). Alternatively, continue reading...
The United States Patent and Trademark Office recently issued final rules amending the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board Rules of Practice and raising fees for many transactions involving trademarks. The new rules and fees will take effect on January 14, 2017, and will apply to continue reading...
The potential defensive value of a registration on the Supplemental Register is highlighted in a recent opinion of the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board, In re Morinaga Nyugyo Kabushiki Kaisha. While we often think of trademarks on the Supplemental Register as less valuable and “junior” in continue reading...
In a previous post, we discussed Louis Vuitton’s unsuccessful lawsuit against My Other Bag, Inc., in which the “parody defense” was a key issue. Louis Vuitton is making trademark law news again – this time as a defendant/counterclaim plaintiff in a trademark infringement suit in continue reading...
After visiting Rio to experience the Olympic Games a few weeks ago, I still feel like a winner. One athlete who won big in Rio was Usain Bolt, who took home three medals in three Track and Field events during the Games this year. Over continue reading...
Today, the USPTO made it official: It formally requested the U.S. Supreme Court to review the en banc Federal Circuit decision that held Section 2(a) of the Lanham Act violated the First Amendment. The USPTO’s Petition can be found here. At issue in the case continue reading...
A recent precedential Trademark Trial and Appeal Board decision provides valuable guidance on the proper allocation of trademark registration ownership as between a corporate parent and a subsidiary, highlighting the perils of identifying the wrong entity as the owner. A trademark is not required to continue reading...
Many online businesses prefer to use domain names that communicate as clearly and concisely as possible the types of goods and services offered on their websites. That may be good marketing strategy. But as a recent decision of the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board demonstrates, continue reading...
On January 28, 2016, Dorsey & Whitney’s Seattle office hosted a CLE panel discussion regarding In Re Simon Shiao Tam, the Federal Circuit decision holding that the “disparaging” trademark prohibition in Section 2(a) of the Lanham Act violated the First Amendment. The panel featured Simon continue reading...
Jeffrey CadwellJeff advises clients on the availability, registrability, and stre...
Michael KeyesJ. Michael Keyes is an intellectual property attorney with exten...
Kaleb McNeelyAs a partner in the Trial Group, Kaleb practices primarily in the ...
Sarah RobertsonSarah has over fifteen years’ experience helping clients prot...
Fara SunderjiFara assists clients in the development and execution of all type...
Charlene KroghCharlene Krogh is a Partner in Dorsey’s top-ranked Tradem...
Evan EveristEvan is a partner in Dorsey’s Trademark, Copyright and Adverti...
