“I Love You, You’re Perfect, Now Change” – Evolution of Trademark Coverage Over Time
Recently, I was discussing with a client a topic that I think is often overlooked by businesses. If you’ve been following us for a while, you know we’re [perhaps not surprisingly] big proponents of businesses registering their trademarks at the federal level. Although obtaining a registration is an important part of protecting the goodwill that […]
No “Do-overs”: The Importance of Correctly Identifying Goods/Services in a Trademark Application
Since our last blog post, we’ve been on the lookout for other cautionary tales that highlight some basic aspects of trademark and copyright law. Sadly, it didn’t take long, as highlighted in a recent post from The TTABlog® addressing the importance of getting your description of goods/services right. The application at issue was for the […]
Revival of Abandoned Brands – Like a Phoenix, but with Trademarks!
As discussed in a previous blog post, in the United States use of a trademark is generally required in order to obtain and maintain trademark rights (whether “common law” or a federally-registered). Like all good things, however, use of many trademarks eventually comes to an end. Once-popular brand names go out of fashion, companies are […]
The End [of EU trademark law as we know it] is Nigh!
O.K., that may be overstating things a bit, but big changes are on the horizon for trademarks in the EU. As background: member nations of the EU maintain their own trademark regulations and registration systems, and are also part of a separate EU body called the “Office for Harmonization in the Internal Market” (“OHIM”), which […]
Go West (and East, North or South), Young Brand. Part 2 – Planning Ahead
We can’t take it any longer. We HAVE to tell you more about filing foreign trademark applications, if only to answer the question that we are asked the most frequently regarding it (besides “How much will it cost?”). “Why? I only offer my products/services in the U.S.” When considering whether filing foreign trademark applications is […]
Someone is using the exact same mark as me. I’m suing them!
As one of my law school professors used to say, “Well, wait a minute.” As in all areas of the law, success in a trademark lawsuit is anything but a given, no matter how “airtight” a case you think you have. There are a variety of factors involved in deciding whether to institute formal litigation […]
“What should I name my company, product or service?” A trademark lawyer’s perspective.
It’s a common debate at many companies — what to name a new product or service (or the company itself). Part of this decision is informed by competing goals; should the name allow consumers to immediately discern what the product/service is, or should it be a distinctive term that is likely to “stick” in the […]