The TTABlog

DECEMBER 18, 2023

Applicant UNIP (apparently owned in part by LeBron James) counterclaimed for cancellation of that registration on the ground of likelihood of confusion. 91244990 (December 14, 2023) [not precedential] (Opinion by Judge Mark A. Welch 2023. The sole issue for the Board was priority, and UNIP came in first. Game Plan, Inc.

Law 70

Law Registration Service Mark Litigation 70

The TTABlog

OCTOBER 10, 2023

In an exhaustive and exhausting decision, the Board sustained an opposition to registration of the mark HME in the stylized from shown below, for various types of pipes and other building products, finding confusion likely with opposer's mark KME for overlapping goods. Welch 2023. KME Germany GmbH v. Zhejiang Hailiang Co.,

Marketing 70

Marketing Marketing Ownership Registration 70

LexBlog IP

SEPTEMBER 11, 2023

In a precedential decision the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (“Board”) affirmed a refusal to register a character featured in a video game on the grounds that the proposed design mark failed to function as a trademark. 97115036 (August 28, 2023). Color was not claimed as part of the mark. [1]

Trademark 52

Trademark Registration Design Designs 52

The TTABlog

NOVEMBER 27, 2023

90641690 (November 21, 2023) [precedentia] (Opinion by Judge Jonathan Hudis). Sections 1, 2, 3, and 45 of the Lanham Act provide the statutory basis for a refusal to register subject matter that does not function as a trademark or service mark. 1578, 2023 USPQ2d 677, at *5 (2023) (cleaned up). Welch 2023.

Service Mark 76

Service Mark Registration Artwork Business 76

Patently-O

JANUARY 26, 2024

by Dennis Crouch The Federal Circuit has just reissued this important trademark decision as precedential. The court found substantial evidence supported the TTAB’s conclusion that the slogan fails to function as a source identifier for the applicant GO & Associates’ goods and services. The opinion here is more nuanced.

Registration 64

Registration Trademark Service Mark Trademark Law 64

The TTABlog

MAY 10, 2023

90976324 (May 5, 2023) [not precedential] (Opinion by Judge Jonathan Hudis). Matter that does not serve to indicate the source or origin of the identified goods and distinguish them from others does not meet the statutory definition of a trademark. The critical issue, of course is how the relevant public perceives the proposed mark.

Artwork 76

Artwork Service Mark Registration Trademark 76

The IPKat

MAY 29, 2023

This Kat is pleased to review the “ Overlapping Intellectual Property rights ”, edited by Neil Wilkof [full disclosure: a member of the IPKat team], Shamnad Basheer, and Irene Calboli (OUP, 2023, 864 pp.). The fictitious German inventors want to commercialise their invention, yet do not have sufficient funds to seek patent registration.

Intellectual Property 89

Intellectual Property Editing Privacy Moral Rights 89

Patently-O

NOVEMBER 17, 2023

Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit recently affirmed two Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (TTAB) decisions. 13, 2023) , the Federal Circuit affirmed the TTAB’s refusal to register the mark EVERYBODY VS RACISM because it failed to function as a trademark. In In re GO & Associates, LLC , 2022-1961 (Fed.

Trademark 64

Trademark Registration Trademark Law Service Mark 64

The TTABlog

NOVEMBER 16, 2023

14, 2023) [not precedential]. The CAFC observed that "[i]f the nature of a proposed mark would not be perceived by consumers as identifying the source of a good or service, it is not registrable," citing TMEP § 1202.04(b) 2579 (2023)). Welch 2023. In re GO & Associates, LLC , Appeal No. 2022-1961 (Fed.

Registration 70

Registration Service Mark Trademark Trademark Law 70

The TTABlog

JANUARY 23, 2024

14, 2023, re-designated as precedential, January 22, 2024). The CAFC observed that "[i]f the nature of a proposed mark would not be perceived by consumers as identifying the source of a good or service, it is not registrable," citing TMEP § 1202.04(b) 2579 (2023)). Welch 2023. 2022-1961 (Fed. Elster , 143 S.

Designs 62

Designs Design Registration Service Mark 62