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Lotus-Shaped Acupressure Mat Product Design Lacks Acquired Distinctiveness and Fails to Function as a Service Mark

The TTABlog

The Board affirmed refusals to register the product design shown below as a trademark for acupressure mats and pillows, and as a service mark for retail store services featuring those goods, finding that the product shape lacked acquired distinctiveness as a trademark and failed to function as a service mark.

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TTABlog Test: Is CROSSFIRST BANK & Circle Design Confusable with Banc of California's RIng Design?

The TTABlog

California claimed that its ring design mark is commercially strong, but its evidence did not relate solely to the ring mark. It included evidence regarding use of that mark with the bank name. Nor did California put its advertising expenses "in context," i.e., in comparison with the expenditures of other banks.

Designs 67
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Actual Use, Not Preparations For Use, Of A Service Mark Is Necessary For The USPTO To Register It

IP Intelligence

If you desire to register a service mark asserting use that is preparatory for the rendering of your services, your application will fail in the U.S. Instead, the services must be actually rendered in connection with the mark for a registration to be granted. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). Suuberg , at p.

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Actual Use, Not Preparations For Use, Of A Service Mark Is Necessary For The USPTO To Register It

LexBlog IP

If you desire to register a service mark asserting use that is preparatory for the rendering of your services, your application will fail in the U.S. Instead, the services must be actually rendered in connection with the mark for a registration to be granted. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). ” Id.

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Dastar doesn't bar allegedly false advertising about source of planned development services

43(B)log

Defendants' letter allegedly copied text from LStar Trademark infringement: LStar never specified what its trademarks or service marks were. Not every word on a label or ad is a mark. False designation of origin: Failed to state a passing off claim, but Dastar didn’t bar a reverse passing off claim. What about injury? “[H]ere

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TM infringement and false advertising claims related to putative open source software "fork" succeed

43(B)log

The parties previously partnered nonexclusively so that PureThink would sell and support the commercial version of Neo4j; upon termination, PureThink expressly agreed to “cease using any trademarks, service marks and other designations of Plaintiffs.” Summary judgment granted on state and federal false advertising claims.

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TM co-owner can't challenge uses authorized by other co-owners (bonus Lexmark reasoning)

43(B)log

The Giant agreement provided that the service mark “JADE” would be held exclusively by the Jade Group, that at no time would more than one member of the Jade Group appear on a non-Jade Group recording, and that no additional members would be added to the Jade Group without Giant’s consent.