This post was originally published to Seyfarth’s The Blunt Truth blog.

Recently, we published an article regarding the increasing viability of cannabis related patents. See here. Sadly, the story is the opposite for federal trademarks. Last month, National Concessions Group, Inc. (“NCG”) was denied federal registration for its trademarks: BAKKED and

(collectively the

Patent applications are often filed at the last minute. Priority considerations force the application to be filed expeditiously to avoid statutory bars or catastrophic public disclosure issues. But filing too quickly—or in the wrong country—may cause the eventual patent to be invalid for failure to obtain a foreign filing license.

What is a Foreign Filing

This post was originally published to Seyfarth’s International Dispute Resolution Blog.

There is a little-known provision of the Lanham Act (the US Trademark Act) that packs a potentially big punch. 15 USC § 1051(e) provides that if a non-U.S. entity registers for a trademark in the United States without designating a United States resident

Proposed legislation in Pennsylvania would allow the sale of cannabis through the Commonwealth’s existing alcohol store system. This could make it easier for consumers of both substances to stock up for their next get-together. But it could also lead to confusion in the aisles of Pennsylvania’s liquor stores.

Those native to or living in Pennsylvania

This post was originally published on Seyfarth’s The Blunt Truth blog.

Cannabis has become a growing sector for investment with increased focus by investors and entrepreneurs. See our colleague’s impressions from the 2022 MJ BizCon cannabis conference here. With the increased funding pouring into this sector has come a desire to protect the intellectual

Melissa Viviane Jefferson, better known by her stage name Lizzo, popularized the phrase 100% THAT BITCH in her hit song “Truth Hurts.” But are popular song lyrics able to function as a trademark for a line of clothing?

Lizzo thought so as her trademark holding company, Lizzo LLC, filed several applications for the phrase 100%

Trademark applicants encounter refusals from the United States Patent and Trademark Office (“USPTO”) based on a myriad of issues. Section 2(d) likelihood of confusion refusals and Section 2(e)(1) mere descriptiveness refusals or disclaimer requirements based on descriptiveness are often issued by the USPTO.

These refusals have applicants scratching their heads to determine whether to pursue an

Pursuant to the Trademark Modernization Act of 2020 (“TMA”), changes to certain procedural rules for ex parte trademark prosecution are now being implemented at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (“USPTO”). One of these changes concerns the amount of time applicants will have to respond to office actions, which Examining Attorneys periodically issue to address