On February 14, 2022, the Copyright Review Board denied registration for a two-dimensional artwork entitled “A Recent Entrance to Paradise.” What was notable about this artwork was that it was created by artificial intelligence (“AI”). The copyright application was filed by Stephen Thaler, an AI researcher best known for his legal campaigns to seek protection for AI-created works. Copyright Act …
LUKUMADES = LOUKOUMADES = DONUTS REFUSED REGISTRATION
Every summer in Chicago, I look forward to attending food festivals. My favorite activity is attending as many Greek church food festivals as possible. Not only because I was raised in the Greek Orthodox faith, but because I absolutely adore the food. The highlight of every Greek picnic are the loukoumades, deep fried pieces of dough that are slathered in …
USPTO Sanctions Over 30 Low-Cost DIY Trademark Filing Websites
On January 25, 2022, the USPTO issued sanctions against Abtach Ltd., 360 Digital Marketing LLC, and Retrocube LLC all believed to be operating out of Pakistan (“Respondents”). These entities were operating under thirty different trade names to file trademark applications for consumers, including Trademark Terminal, Trademark Regal, and US Trademark Solutions, among others. More than 5,500 trademark applications are being …
Spotify Snuffs Out Potify Applications at the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board
Last week, in the first precedential decision of 2022, the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (“TTAB” or “Board”) held that the SPOTIFY mark is a famous and distinctive trademark. The Board refused to register the marks POTIFY and POTIFY & Design for an app that essentially allows consumers to order their favorite products from their preferred marijuana dispensaries. Spotify argued …
Washington Football Team Will Announce New Name – Tips to Rebrand
The Washington Football Team announced last week that it would unveil its new team name on February 2, 2022. The team buckled under pressure from its corporate sponsors in the summer of 2020 and announced on July 13, 2020, that it would rebrand, effectively dropping the controversial Redskins name. It temporarily adopted The Washington Football Team name for the 2020-2021 …
The New Trademark Modernization Act: Its Impact on Foreign Trademark Owners
The Trademark Modernization Act (“TMA”) was signed into law on December 27, 2020 to address the increase in fraudulent trademark filings by foreign trademark owners, many of which reside in China. The TMA amends the Trademark Act (Lanham Act) and will mostly became effective at the United States Patent and Trademark Office (“USPTO”) on December 18, 2021. These changes will …
Which Thanksgiving Food Brand is the Oldest?
Here in the U.S. it’s nearly Thanksgiving, my favorite holiday. I thought it would be interesting to explore some famous branded food items often seen around a typical American holiday table. Any guess as to which brand is the oldest? I’ll admit even I was surprised. Let’s have some fun! Let’s talk turkey. Butterball turkey has been a U.S. registered …
TTAB Rules that Reckless Disregard for Truth Rises to Fraud
On September 30, 2021, in a precedential decision, the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (“TTAB”) clarified that “reckless disregard satisfies the requisite intent for fraud on the USPTO in trademark matters.” Chutter, Inc. v. Great Management Group, LLC,2021 USPQ2d 1001 (TTAB 2021). This question was left open by the Federal Circuit in the seminal case of In re Bose. Since …
How to Handle Recent USPTO Delays
The USPTO has been experiencing a surge in new trademark application filings since the height of the pandemic and this has caused delays in examining applications and issuing trademark registrations. There are many possible reasons for the surge in new trademark applications filings including a record number of small businesses being formed, changes to Amazon’s brand registry program, established businesses …
World IP Day 2021: Celebrating Small Business Owners
Today is World Intellectual Property Day, and this year, we take the time to celebrate small businesses who are the lifeblood of our global economy. In the United States, small businesses drive our economy – they comprise more than 90% of our businesses and employ nearly half of the country’s workforce. This past year as we faced one of the …