In a recent federal court ruling, a judge articulated once again why famous brands enjoy greater rights than those that lack renown.
The case pits two giants in wholly unrelated fields— clothing versus alcoholic beverages.
The lesson? Food, beverage, and liquor sellers should exercise caution and select brand names that are not the same or are not similar to those of existing “famous” brands, even in completely unrelated fields. » Read More
This post is a continuation of a prior one, with key lessons for owners of established and emerging food, beverage, and restaurant brands – all culled from recent cases. Click here for Part One.
Lesson Three: Consider even “Unrelated” Products when Choosing Your Brand and Enforcing Your Rights
Food and beverage companies may be precluded from obtaining registration due to third parties’ brand use for seemingly unrelated goods, and vice versa. » Read More
So many food and beverage brand decisions have been making their way through the Trademark Office and the courts recently, I thought it would be a good idea to blog about some of them, and more importantly, about four key branding lessons they teach to emerging and established food and beverage companies, as well as restaurants. » Read More
Sometimes, it seems not a day goes by without a client calling about a trademark-related scam. To help you avoid becoming another victim, I am writing about two of the more common fraudulent schemes.
The first involves the transmission (via snail mail or email) to the owner of a trademark registration of a notice that looks official, and may even be labeled “Patent and Trademark Office.” The notice requests payment to “renew” a trademark registration, warning that if it is not received by a specific date, the trademark registration will expire. » Read More
In In re Jeffrey Butscher, Serial No. 87572095, the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (TTAB) reversed the Examiner’s refusal to permit the trademark registration of the mark CANNABIS CANNIBALS for “entertainment services, namely, an ongoing series featuring animated cannabis smoking cannibals provided through network or cable TV and the internet.” According to the Applicant’s IMDb page, “Cannabis Cannibals stories the irreverent and comedic life of two weed smoking cannibals, who move to America in pursuit of becoming Reality TV Stars, while at the same time battling their unique eating disorder.”
The Examiner asserted that the CANNABIS CANNIBALS mark merely describes the subject matter of the entertainment series, (i.e., cannabis smoking cannibals). » Read More
As part of any trademark application, the applicant must submit a drawing of the mark and a specimen showing use of the mark in commerce in connection with the underlying goods and services identified in the application. » Read More
Santa’s making a list and checking it twice. With the help of his trademark elves, he’s going to find out whether brand owners have been naughty or nice when it comes to using their trademarks properly. Those on the Nice List get rewarded with the ultimate Christmas present… enforceable trademark rights! » Read More
As we approach the Thanksgiving holiday, the authors here at More Than Your Mar®k want to say “thank you” to all of our subscribers and readers. We are grateful for the opportunity to share with you all-things-trademark… and more!
Keeping with the Thanksgiving theme, here is a feast of “THANKSGIVING” trademarks that are registered with the United States Patent and Trademark Office. » Read More
When a restaurant name is licensed, how does the owner properly compute a trademark royalty? Should a higher royalty be set for a famous mark? These issues were decided recently by the New York Supreme Court in Ganzi, Gary C. et al. » Read More
In a blog post earlier this year, I wrote about the legal haze in seeking U.S. trademark registrations for trademark owners of cannabis-related goods and services. While seeking federal trademark registration is undoubtedly challenging, the hurdles are not a complete bar to registration. » Read More
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