On January 24, 2023, the Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit held in H&R Block, Inc. v. Block, Inc.,[1] that defendant Block’s trademark was not likely to confuse consumers as to source of the registered service mark of plaintiff H&R Block. This was not a unanimous decision, and one dissent was lodged, noting that …
Category: trademark
9th Circuit Expands Service of Process Against Foreign Defendant
On November 14, 2022, in San Antonio Winery, Inc. v. Jiaxing Micarose Trade Co., Ltd.,[1] the Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit held that process may be effected on a nonappearing foreign defendant in a trademark infringement suit through service upon the Director of the USPTO. This was a case of first impression and …
9th Circuit Punches the First Amendment into the Bowl
The facts are as follows. The plaintiff, Punchbowl, Inc., is an online greeting card company, using and owning the PUNCHBOWL mark since 2006. The defendant AJ Press is the owner of PUNCHBOWL NEWS, an online subscription-based news blog focused on national politics and US government news. The “punchbowl” metaphor refers to an upside down Capitol …
New Response Deadline Rule Soon to Take Effect
As part of the implementation of the Trademark Modernization Act (TMA) of 2020, the new USPTO rule (formerly 37 C.F.R. §2.62(a)) to respond to trademark office actions will drop from the former six-month period to three months, with the option to file an extension of time to respond for an additional, and final, three months. …
USPTO Begins ID Verification for Trademark Applications
On June 30, 2022, the USPTO’s new Director, Kathi Vidal, discussed the new identity verification requirements for filing of new trademark applications, commencing on August 6, 2022 (just in five days from now). The new ID verification follows from the Trademark Modernization Act and the USPTO’s crackdown on fraudulent trademark applications and fraud-upon-the-office issues which …
USPTO Updates Exam Guide for Generic Marks
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 case of generic marks will be based on the reasonable basis standard, which is the same standard used for other substantive refusals of trademark …
Spotlight on I.P.: Geographical Indications
When asked to describe what is I.P., most people will reply with a generalized answer of patents, copyrights, or trademarks. However, the field of intellectual property encompasses more sub-categories than these “Big 3.” This blog posting will consider one of the many other I.P.s, specifically geographical indications. What is a Geographical Indication (GI)? A geographical …
First Amendment Trumps Trump
On February 24, 2022, the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit held in In re Elster,[1] that Section 2(c) of the Lanham Act (15 U.S.C. §1052(c)) unconstitutionally restricts free speech. In doing so, the Fed Circuit cleared the way for trademark applicants to utilize their marks used in commerce as a platform to comment …
Spread Some LOVE . . . Or Not
Today, May 1, is Global Love Day. To commemorate the day, we spotlight ”love,” specifically the trademark registrations and copyright applications for LOVE. Registrant At World Properties, LLC, a real estate brokerage company based in Chicago, Illinois, registered two marks with the USPTO, one each stylized trademark and service mark for LOVE®. The first …
More Russian Warships, More Failures to Function
As of March 21, 2022, the Russian invasion of Ukraine continues, and so do the filings of trademark applications capitalizing on that war. As discussed in an earlier blog, RUSSIAN WARSHIP, GO FUCK YOURSELF was filed on February 26, 2022, just two days after Russia invaded Ukraine. Since then, there have been six other renditions …