While the legal battles between generative AI and copyright have dominated the headlines, a secondary, equally volatile storm is brewing in the world of intellectual property: trademarks. Trademarks...
This blog posting will briefly discuss geographical indications (GIs), a somewhat little-known intellectual property right. What are geographical indications? It is a collective IP right — belonging...
One of the fundamental principles of trademark law is that certain terms cannot function as trademarks because, as being merely descriptive of the goods or sources, these marks lack the role as an...
Color Marks: The Basics Color marks represent one of the more challenging types of non-traditional trademarks. Since the landmark Supreme Court decision in Qualitex Co. v. Jacobson Products Co.,...
Understanding Trademark Genericism Trademark law exists to protect distinctive marks that identify the source of a particular good or service. However, when a trademark becomes so widely known that...
On May 23, 2022, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office updated its exam guideline for examining generic marks, Examination Guide 1-22. The guideline clarifies that the establishment of a prima facie...
Applicant’s proposed stylized mark with pixelation On February 2, 2022, the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit affirmed in In re Vox Populi Registry Ltd., the decision of the USPTO’s Trademark...
In a major ruling, the U.S. Supreme Court held in U.S.P.T.O. v. Booking.com B.V., that an otherwise generic mark used in commerce conveys source-identifying characteristics when used with the “.com”...
In a rare review of a Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (TTAB) case, the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit vacated and remanded the decision in Royal Crown Co., Inc. v. The Coca-Cola Co.,...