Many years ago, I wrote an article about using NFL trademarks, which can be found here. As a result of that article, and despite the advice in it, I continue to get many questions asking if an NFL logo can be used to sell something. Everything Except the Logo? Some people try to get crafty […]
Atlas Van Lines, an international transportation and logistics company, has been operating as “Atlas” since 1948. The company includes hundreds of agents across the United States and is a well-established brand throughout the country. In 2017, Atlas Van Lines discovered their registered trademarks, including “Atlas” and “Atlas Logistics,” were being used to advertise the services […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
The USPTO announced that it was launching a pilot program to streamline cancellation proceedings for registered trademarks that may have been abandoned or that the trademark owner is not currently using. The Trademark Office indicated that such trademark registrations often act as a hindrance to trademark owners that are actually using their trademarks but cannot […]
Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross today announced the appointment of Laura A. Peter as deputy under secretary of commerce for intellectual property and deputy director of the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), effective November 13, 2018. Peter most recently held the position of deputy general counsel of A10 Networks in Silicon Valley and […]
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 […]
Up until recently, software patents accounted for about half of all patents issued by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). The U.S. Supreme Court has since made it more difficult to receive a software patent. However, the tide is shifting back in favor of inventors and patent owners. In fact, since the initial […]
