Marta Paul spoke on recent developments in US trademark law at the August practice group lunch. Topics included the Supreme Court’s decision in Matal v. Tam on “disparaging” trademarks, as well as how the USPTO is handling similar parts of the trademark statute in the wake of the decision. More news from the USPTO included a new examination guideline on “merely informational matter” and recent cases from the TTAB. Finally, Marta discussed a recent precedential decision from the Court of Appeal for the Federal Circuit, In re I.AM.SYMBOLIC, LLC, involving likelihood of confusion and the effect of subject matter limitations in the identifications of goods or services used in trademark applications.
Infrastructure - Presentation by Rémi Aubert and Alix de Sagazan, Founders of AB Tasty at the NOAH Conference London 2016, Old Billingsgate on the 10th of November 2016.
This workshop is great for individual entrepreneurs developing a personal brand, for startups, freelancers, and others who responsible for selecting a company name, product name, and designing a branding strategy. Key takeaways include essential definitions, legal authorities and processes, best practices, and case examples. Plenty of time for Q&A as well.
Karen Tyler is an intellectual property attorney and experienced civil litigator who assists Dunkiel Saunders’ clients intrademark registration, prosecution and enforcement. Karen handles opposition and cancellation proceedings before theTrademark Trial and Appeal Board, as well as litigation in federal court.
Infrastructure - Presentation by Rémi Aubert and Alix de Sagazan, Founders of AB Tasty at the NOAH Conference London 2016, Old Billingsgate on the 10th of November 2016.
This workshop is great for individual entrepreneurs developing a personal brand, for startups, freelancers, and others who responsible for selecting a company name, product name, and designing a branding strategy. Key takeaways include essential definitions, legal authorities and processes, best practices, and case examples. Plenty of time for Q&A as well.
Karen Tyler is an intellectual property attorney and experienced civil litigator who assists Dunkiel Saunders’ clients intrademark registration, prosecution and enforcement. Karen handles opposition and cancellation proceedings before theTrademark Trial and Appeal Board, as well as litigation in federal court.
My partners and I recently put on a seminar for dentists and dental consultants. Topics discussed included avoiding pitfalls in lease renewals, employment law for professionals and small business owners, and staying out of trouble in dentistry.
My colleagues and I recently put on a seminar for dentists and dental consultants. Topics discussed included avoiding pitfalls in lease renewals, employment law for professionals and small business owners, and staying out of trouble in dentistry.
Topics discussed include avoiding pitfalls in lease renewals, employment law for professionals and small business owners, staying out of trouble in dentistry.
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At a recent in-house CLE event, John Sganga, Partner and the firm's Litigation Practice Group Chair, presented an intellectual property year in review discussing important cases throughout 2015.
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My partners and I recently put on a seminar for dentists and dental consultants. Topics discussed included avoiding pitfalls in lease renewals, employment law for professionals and small business owners, and staying out of trouble in dentistry.
My colleagues and I recently put on a seminar for dentists and dental consultants. Topics discussed included avoiding pitfalls in lease renewals, employment law for professionals and small business owners, and staying out of trouble in dentistry.
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July’s practice group lunch included an overview of recent decisions, the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, and the United States Supreme Court. The Supreme Court addressed a number of patent law topics this year, including the standard of review for patent claim construction (Teva Pharmaceuticals v. Sandoz), royalties on expired patents (Kimble v. Marvel Enterprises), and defenses to claims of induced infringement (Commil v. Cisco). The initial wave of appeals in post-issuance proceedings provided by the America Invents Act are now being decided by the Federal Circuit. These include cases involving whether the decision to institute is reviewable (In re Cuozzo Speed Technologies) and discussion of the claim construction standards that apply (Microsoft v. Proxyconn). The relationship between administrative challenges and related litigation is also an evolving area (ePlus v. Lawson Software).
July’s practice group lunch included an overview of recent news from the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) and decisions from the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (TTAB). The USPTO continues to revise its manuals for trademark practice (TMEP and TBMP) on a rolling basis, and has issued new rules and guidance on certain specific types of trademarks, such as collective marks and repeating patterns. The TTAB has decided that it will presume that, between a manufacture and an exclusive distributor, the manufacture owns the mark, subject to rebuttal (UVeritech v. Amax Lighting). Another TTAB case addresses the interaction between the courts and the USPTO, where the TTAB refused to vacate a decision even though the parties later settled the case while on appeal (University of Alabama v. Pitts).
Topics covered in this patent prosecution lunch presentation include information about newly appointed Federal Circuit Judge Kara Stoll and the Cooperative Patent Classification (CPC) system. In addition, the presentation describes recent problems of accessing Private PAIR/EFS Web using the Google Chrome browser as well as how to change an entity size in Private PAIR. It also discusses the new Expedited Patent Appeal Pilot program as well as the Collaborative Search Pilot Programs (CSP) between the US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), the Japan Patent Office (JPO), and Korean Intellectual Property Office (KIPO). Some recent decisions concerning divisional applications and their impact on the obviousness type double patenting rejections along with patent term adjustment are further analyzed.
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2. Matal v. Tam
(“The Slants” Decision)
• U.S. Supreme Court rules that the
“disparagement” clause is unconstitutional –
violates First Amendment
– Trademarks are not government speech
• “Scandalous and immoral” provision of the
Trademark Act is still intact
– In re Brunetti, currently suspended at the CAFC
3. USPTO Examination
Guideline
• Disparagement - Gone:
– TMEP provisions no longer apply
– Suspended applications will be removed from
suspension and examined under other grounds
– If rejected in the past, file a new application
• Scandalous – On Hold:
– TMEP sections still apply
– Suspensions will remain in place until CAFC
issues decision (In re Brunetti)
4. USPTO Examination Guideline
“Merely Informational Matter”
• **Cannot be overcome with acquired distinctiveness or amending to
the Supplemental Reg., similar treatment as generic refusal**
• (1) Matter that is used merely to convey information:
– Likely to also receive descriptiveness rejection
– Examples:
SPECTRUM for illuminated switches
WHY PAY MORE? for grocery services
PASTEURZIED for face cream
• (2) Widely-used slogans / messages:
– DRIVE SAFELY, THINK GREEN, MADE IN THE USA, ONE
NATION UNDER GOD
• (3) Religious quotes:
– JOHN 3:16, THE LORD IS MY SHEPHERD I SHALL NOT WANT,
AN EYE FOR AN EYE
5. Third-party Evidence
in Ex Parte Cases
• Applicant’s evidence was persuasive:
– TOPDOC: descriptive of physician referral services
– Applicant submitted hundreds of 3rd-party registrations with “TOP”-
noun treated as suggestive, not descriptive
– TTAB reversed refusal – mark is suggestive
• Applicant’s evidence was not persuasive:
– FURNITUREBOBS rejected based on BOB’S DISCOUNT
FURNITURE
– Applicant submitted third-party registrations and actual uses of
“Bob” and “furniture”
– TTAB: In actuality, Applicant only cited to 5 uses of “Bob” and
“furniture” (without other significantly distinguishing elements)
– TTAB: evidence does not show “widespread and significant use”
enough to render the cited mark so weak that the public will be
able to distinguish between the marks
6. will.i.am
Black Eyed Peas
• Applied to register “I AM” for cosmetics, jewelry
– Limitation: “all associated with William Adams, professionally
known as will.i.am”
– Rejected based on prior registration for same mark / same goods
– TTAB: limitation is meaningless, confusion is likely
– CAFC affirms
• How does this compare to “affinity merchandise” court cases?
– Even when marks / goods are identical, the uses do not cause
confusion when the goods are “associated with” the source of
entertainment (ex: Survivor band v. Survivor show)
– Differences:
Ex parte v. contested court case
No evidence that he goes by “I AM”
Protect prior registrant / avoid the issue