In a precedent-setting case, the Trademark Trial and Appeals Board (TTAB) has rescinded a trademark even though the trademark holder doesn’t use that mark in the United States and has no plans to do so. The case, which can be found here, illustrates that the “misrepresentation as to source” provision of the Lanham Act can […]
In what may well be the first action of its kind, the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) unveiled earlier this month a visual search interface for its Global Brand Database. The new interface is designed to make it possible for users to look for trademarks by their visual appearance. The new UI can be approached […]
Filing for trademark protection in advance of the actual usage of a mark in commerce must be backed by clear documentary evidence of an actual intent to use if you wish to avoid losing the mark in a lawsuit. The Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (TTAB), in a recent case, sustained opposition to an application […]
ICANN, the organization charged with overseeing various internet-related tasks, including the new global top-level domain name (gTLD) system, recently began implementing a “Proof of Use” verification process. New gTLDs and their marks will be given protection through the Trademark Clearinghouse during its sunrise periods. A sunrise period is a set amount of time where Clearinghouse […]
The world is going to get more complicated. Instead of the Internet-universe mainly being defined by .com, net, and .org, potentially thousands of new top-level domains, known as TLDs, are going to be added. The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (“ICANN”) has posted information about applications to establish new TLDs. The $185,000 price […]