Trademarks are the building blocks for the success of a new company. There are numerous reasons why a company or an individual needs to secure a trademark, including: 1. Brand Protection The public identifies a trademark and then separates the products and services from the other products and services in that field, creating brand recognition […]
Widerman Malek Law Blog
Five Classic Examples of Trademarks
What is a trademark? “A trademark can be any word, phrase, symbol, design, or a combination of these that identifies your goods or services.” A trademark is how customers recognize you in the marketplace and distinguish you from your competitors. There are many different types of marks that can function as a trademark. It could […]
KARDASHIAN TRADEMARK DISPUTE HEADED TO THE US SUPREME COURT?
The Kardashians are involved in a trademark dispute that may be decided by the US Supreme Court. Kroma Makeup EU, LLC (“Kroma EU”) sued the Kardashians in 2014 over the Kardashians beauty products line, “Khroma Beauty”. Kroma EU was granted a license in October 2012 to import, sell and distribute “Kroma” branded beauty products in […]
High Court Strikes Down Offensive Trademarks Ban
The U.S. Supreme Court ruled Monday, June 24, 2019 that a federal ban on the registration of “scandalous” trademarks such as “Fuct” violates the First Amendment. This comes less than two years after striking down a similar rule against marks deemed “offensive”. In a 6-3 vote, justices said the provision was an unconstitutional form of […]
Supreme Court Decides “The Most Significant Unresolved Legal Issue in Trademark Licensing”
I previously wrote about the issue of what happens to a trademark license when the brand owner goes bankrupt. The Supreme Court’s decision seems to be good news for trademark licensees and bad news for trademark licensors. On May 20, 2019, an 8-1 Supreme Court ruled that a bankrupt company’s decision to “reject” an existing […]
Supreme Court to Tackle Issue of Who Pays Trademark Litigation Fees
The US Supreme Court agreed to decide whether the US Patent and Trademark Office’s policy of requiring its attorneys’ fees be paid regardless of the outcome of the case is legal. The district court circuit split arises from language in both the Patent Act and the Lanham Act that requires applicants, who file de novo […]
Why Profitable Trademark Licensees Should Care About Bankruptcy
The United States Supreme Court will decide, “the most significant unresolved legal issue in trademark licensing during the upcoming term.” A split between Circuit Courts currently exists over the issue of, “what happens to a trademark license when the brand owner goes bankrupt?” Or, as the issue has been presented to the Supreme Court for […]
Trademark Piracy – Amazon Brand Registry
Over the past several months a disturbing practice has been occurring at the USPTO. Trademark pirates are fraudulently changing the email address of the correspondence section within a trademark registration. Once changed, the trademark pirate contacts Amazon Brand Registry and requests the trademark be registered to the fraudulent email address/pirate. Amazon will email a secret […]
Trademarks, Blue Ivy and False Headlines
By Mark Warzecha I recently read an article in Rolling Stone with the title, “Jay-Z and Beyoncé lose bid to trademark Blue Ivy.” I thought this was interesting so I researched the US PTO. Contrary to the title of the article, Jay-Z and Beyoncé did not lose their bid trademark “Blue Ivy Carter.” Actually, their […]
