Posts Tagged: "trademark office"

TPAC Discussions Focus on Office Funding, Government Shutdown & Trademark Legislation

The Trademark Public Advisory Committee (TPAC) held its first quarterly meeting of 2019 on January 25… Despite the projection that without a long term solution to the government shutdown funding would run out by mid-April for Trademark Operations, USPTO Commissioner for Trademarks Mary Boney Denison said that the Office was still planning to proceed with hiring new trademark examiners… The first quarter of 2019 and last quarter of 2018 indicated a decline in filings for the first time since FY2010, which could mean that the USPTO’s projection that trademark filings will increase by 6.1% this year is incorrect… In discussing levels of TTAB filings, Rogers noted that the last few years had seen significant increases in the number of oppositions and petitions for cancelling trademarks coming in through the front door of the TTAB’s filing system. While appeals were increasing, they were being outpaced by oppositions and petitions to cancel.

Event planner Blue Ivy wins motion for early discovery in trademark opposition case against Beyoncé

On June 21st, however, an administrative trademark judge at the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (TTAB) granted Blue Ivy’s motion for early discovery. The discovery is limited to the grounds of no bona fide intent and fraud on the USPTO. Blue Ivy alleges that, although BGK Trademark Holdings is claiming the use of the BLUE IVY CARTER mark for a wide range of goods and services, that there’s no true intent to use the mark in commerce at all.

Trademark applications filed on Trump’s 2020 campaign slogan, Keep America Great

When President Donald Trump’s campaign for re-election starts gearing up for the 2020 election season, you will know it when you hear him say that he wants to “keep America great.” Trump has already filed two trademark applications to protect the use of this next incarnation of the political slogan which helped to put him in the White House… The story surrounding Trump’s decision to file the trademarks is a perfect example of his brusque style. An interview with Trump published by The Washington Post, also dated January 18th, describes how the then-President-elect stopped his interview briefly after saying that slogan to the interviewer to ask a lawyer to trademark that slogan. The Post’s coverage clearly states that he immediately wanted to trademark two versions of “Keep America Great,” one with an exclamation point and one without.

CAFC Vacates TTAB, Refuses Bright-Line Rule to Distinguish Software from Services Rendered

The Federal Circuit vacated the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board’s (“Board”) cancellation of two JobDiva service mark registrations—one in whole and the other in part—and remanded for further consideration. As the Court pointed out in its opinion, JobDiva could have avoided the issues in this case by initially registering “marks to identify both software and services performed by software.” Practitioners should take care to register a mark for all goods and services for which the mark may be used.

USPTO refuses registration of Golden Knights trademark for Las Vegas NHL franchise

In late November, the Las Vegas NHL hockey franchise, which will begin playing with the National Hockey League (NHL) in the 2017-18 season, announced that it would be known as the Golden Knights. On December 7th, however, an office action issued by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office indicated that the USPTO had refused registration of U.S. Trademark Application No. 87147239, which would have protected the use of the standard character mark of “VEGAS GOLDEN KNIGHTS” on entertainment services, specifically professional ice hockey exhibitions.

Trademark owners are often targeted by fraudulent, deceptive registry services

The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office’s official website warns trademark owners about private companies who conduct trademark scams. These schemes involve companies, many of which use names intended to confuse people into an association with the USPTO, who make offers for legal services, trademark monitoring services, recording trademarks with U.S. Customs and Border Protection or registering the trademarks in a private registry. On its warning page, the USPTO maintains a list of a couple dozen such companies whose scamming activities are known.

Estimating the Costs for Filing, Registering, and Renewing Single-class Trademarks across the Globe

Estimates for renewing the trademark for one term (including the attorney costs) in the U.S. and the other seven Convention countries vary from $320 in Thailand to $2,120 in the U.S., while the same amounts to $4,556 under the Madrid Protocol (Figure 5). The estimates are inclusive of the costs for filing combined affidavits under Section 8 (affidavit of use) and Section 15 (incontestability) in the U.S., in addition to the costs for filing an “Affidavit of Continued Use” under Section 9 in the U.S. The individual country renewal fees under the Madrid Protocol vary from $80 in India to $925 in the EU (Figure 6).

The Cheesesteak Apostrophe: Restaurant Sues USPTO to Trademark “Philadelphia’s Cheesesteak”

A well-known sandwich and a little punctuation mark are at the heart of a lawsuit between a Philadelphia restaurant and the United States Patent and Trademark Office. Campo’s Deli in Philadelphia, is suing the director of the Patent and Trademark Office, David Kappos, in response the USPTO’s rejection of their application, which sought to trademark the name “Philadelphia’s Cheesesteak.” The problem? There are already registrations for nearly identical marks — just without the apostrophe.

USPTO Seeks Comment on Lowering Trademark Application Fees

The U.S. Department of Commerce’s United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) is seeking public comment on the possibility of adjusting trademark application fees, so as to lower the fees for all applicants willing to file and communicate electronically with the USPTO. The efficiencies achieved by trademark electronic filing and communications have put the USPTO in a position to potentially reduce the overall collection of trademark application fees, and the Office wishes to adjust the fees in a way that further promotes efficiency both for users and the USPTO. A Notice of Inquiry has been published in the Federal Register.

USPTO Expands Trademark Law School Pilot Program

The U.S. Department of Commerce’s United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) today announced the selection of nine additional law schools to join the Trademark Law School Clinic Certification Pilot Program this fall. The program allows law students to practice trademark law before the USPTO under the guidance of a faculty clinic supervisor.

USPTO Announces 2012 National Trademark Expo

The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) will host the 2012 National Trademark Expo on Friday, Oct. 19, and Saturday, Oct. 20, at the USPTO’s headquarters in Alexandria, Virginia. The free two-day event is designed to educate the public about trademarks and their importance in the global marketplace. Last year’s Trademark Expo attracted more than 15,000 visitors of all ages.

Exclusive Interview: Trademark Commissioner Cohn Part 2

On February 3, 2012, I had the pleasure of interviewing Deborah Cohn, the Commissioner for Trademarks at the United States Patent and Trademark Office. Part 1 of the interview was published yesterday. What follows is the remainder of the interview. We discussed a range of topics in this segment, including average pendency of trademark applications, cease and desist practice and some of the misleading letters sent to trademark owners and applicants from various third-parties that provide dubious publication services.

Exclusive Interview: Trademark Commissioner Deborah Cohn

On February 3, 2012, I had the pleasure of interviewing Deborah Cohn, the Commissioner for Trademarks at the United States Patent and Trademark Office. Cohn oversees all aspects of the USPTO’s Trademarks organization including policy, operations and budget relating to trademark examination, registration and maintenance. We spoke in her office on the 10th floor of the Madison Building for approximately 55 minutes.

USPTO 2011 Trademark Expo, Fun for the Whole Family

The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) will host the 2011 National Trademark Expo on Friday, October 14th, and Saturday, October 15th, at the USPTO’s headquarters in Alexandria, Virginia. The free two-day event is designed to educate the public about the value of trademarks in the global marketplace. If you have young children and are looking for something exceptionally fun, and free, I highly recommend the Trademark Expo. While there are seminars aimed at adults, which are quite good, children will have a blast because costumed characters will be walking about and mugging for photos with children, families and adults too!

Kellogg’s Toucan Sam Asserted Against Archaeology Initiative

According to the Maya Archaeology Initiative press release, a detailed response was sent by their legal representative to Kellogg’s, which among other things asserted that the toucan in MAI’s logo looks nothing like Kellogg’s cartoon character and said the two entities are not in competition. The press release goes on to say that the MAI’s logo is based upon a realistic toucan native to Mesoamerica, while Kellogg’s Toucan Sam is a cartoon character with colors that represent the Froot Loops® food coloring. Really? Wow! Let’s take those one at a time.