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IP Edge v. Judge Connolly
Blunders That Made ‘Bakked’ Cannabis TM Go Up In Smoke
A recent lawsuit filed in Washington state court alleging trademark infringement by AmerikanWeed, Palmer v. Komm, illustrates the importance of protecting intellectual property in the cannabis industry.[1]
Because the plaintiffs obtained a Washington state trademark registration, their recourse is limited to that state. To have recourse against infringement outside Washington, a federal registration may provide
NPE Showcase – Legislative Update
USPTO Proposes Trademark Fee Schedule Change
On May 8, 2023, the USPTO announced its preliminary proposal to adjust its schedule of trademark fees, which was last modified January 2, 2021.[i] The USPTO states that the existing fee schedule does not allow for enough revenue because of (1) the change in both applicant filing behaviors and trademark demand, and (2)
SCOTUS To Examine Whether First Amendment “Trumps” Lanham Act
The U.S. Supreme Court continues to show interest in trademark issues with its recent grant of certiorari in another case pitting the Lanham Act against the First Amendment.
Applicant Steve Elster applied to register the trademark TRUMP TOO SMALL for t-shirts back in 2018. The US Patent and Trademark Office (“USPTO”) refused registration on the
The Supremacy Clause and Trademarks: Why State Cannabis Legalization Isn’t Enough for a Federal Trademark
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
NPE Showcase – Leigh Rothschild
Most nonpracticing entities are private firms owned by patent attorneys, investors, or a combination of the two. In other cases, NPEs do everything they can to obscure the identify of the true owner. And in virtually all cases, NPEs purchase the asserted patents from another company seeking to divest assets for cash.
Leigh Rothschild is
Foreign Filing Licenses – An Overlooked Pitfall of Last Minute Patent Filings
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
Serving the USPTO Director in Actions Involving Non-US Companies: A Little-Known Provision of the Lanham Act
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