When you are a creative person, your creations are called “intellectual property.” In order to protect one’s creations, whether literary works, music or art, most people diligently safeguard their intellectual property rights via copyrights, trademarks, patents, etc. Yet, many people do not think to consider what happens to these rights...
By Nafsika Karavida and Cleopatra Elrashidy The U.S. Supreme Court’s bite proved louder than its bark when it comes to trademark infringement, when it clarified in a recent unanimous decision in Jack Daniel’s Properties, Inc. v. VIP Products LLC [1] how source confusion is the bane of trademark law’s twin...
Talking about the Metaverse is like having a discussion about what “the internet” is in the 1970s or what “the cloud” is in the early 2000s. So what exactly is the Metaverse and what is all the hype about? Simply put, the Metaverse is a new iteration of the internet...
By Larry Brocchini When my college-bound son asked me if the word “THE” could be trademarked, I wondered if my love for IP law had rubbed off on him. Turns out, his curiosity was driven by his passion for sports, not trademarks. Specifically, Ohio State University (an institution my son...
Earlier this month, the United States Patent and Trademark Office (the “PTO”) quietly announced a new rule pertaining to all trademark applicants, registrants, and parties to trademark proceedings whose permanent legal residence or principal place of business is outside the United States. Commencing as of August 3, 2019, when the...
Just prior to adjourning for its summer recess, the United States Supreme Court ruled that First Amendment free speech considerations required the United States Patent and Trademark Office (“PTO”) to register the trademark “FUCT.” The “FUCT” case is the second in three years contesting federal trademark registration content restrictions. In...
As an update of my reporting concerning the United States Patent and Trademark Office’s controversial policy of seeking to recover attorneys’ fees in connection with district court review of denials of trademark and patent applications, the Supreme Court today granted the petition for certiorari in Iancu v. Nantkwest and agreed...
As an update of my report from last month on the circuit split on the issue of the recovery of the United States Patent and Trademark Office’s attorneys’ fees in connection with district court review of denials of trademark and patent applications, the PTO Director filed a petition for certiorari...
Trademark and patent applicants and practitioners have grown used to (and weary of) ever-increasing Patent and Trademark Office [PTO] fees, particularly since Congress mandated that the PTO’s operations be self-funded. But, even the most cynical PTO practitioner might be surprised at the ingenuity of the PTO Director’s latest revenue generating...
RPJ Partner Deena R. Merlen is hosting an International Trademark Association (INTA) North America Roundtable in Stamford, CT, on April 13 on trademark due diligence and trademark transactions. IP due diligence, as an important part of overall mergers and acquisitions (M&A) due diligence, is the process of gathering information and...