Disparaging trademarks

USPTO Rules to File Statement of Use, and When To File an “Insurance” Extension of Time

A Statement of Use (SOU) is required when a trademark application was originally filed as “intent ...

Identity Verification for Trademark Filings with USPTO

Click here for video of what is written below. The U.S. Patent & Trademark Office recently ...

Copyright Trolls Update

A previous article discussed how Getty Images, Inc. and other image licensing companies routinely send out ...

Design Patent for Consumer Products

In today’s competitive marketplace a successful business product will likely draw competition, and competitors may try ...

Trademark Basics

Trademarks are an important business asset.  Trademarks have different aspects.  A trademark can function as a ...

CA Social Purpose Corporations – Annual Shareholder Report

A California Social Purpose Corporation is formed pursuant to Corporations Code sections 2500 et seq. Social Purpose Corporations are ...

Patent Claim Drafting – Use of “OR”

It is surprising to read a Federal Circuit case on patent claim construction, delving deeply into ...

Bloggers Beware – Copyright Trolls on the Prowl

Certain large companies, including Getty Images , routinely send out demand letters claiming copyright infringement based ...

Social Purpose Corporation – May Consider Public Benefit In Addition to Maximizing Profit

Since 2012, California has created two new corporate structures: (1) the social purpose corporation; and (2) ...

Apple, Inc. and What a Company can do with $231.5 Billion Cash-on-Hand

People often ask about the extent of patent and trademark applications needed to protect the intellectual property ...

Tips to Selecting Proper Trademark Classification in Trademark Application

Every trademark application filed with the United States Patent& Trademark Office (PTO) must identify the goods ...

Damages for Infringement of Design Patents – Supreme Court Clarifies Rules in Apple v. Samsung

Apple Inc. is known for the number of patents it owns. Apple doesn’t just own patents, it ...

Design Patents – Year in Review

Companies continue to see the value of design patents.  Nike, Inc. is ranked 5th in the ...

Trademark Applicants – Beware of Scams After Filing TM App

A trademark application filed with the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office contains required information about the ...

Post America Invents Act — Inside the “On-Sale Bar” of 35 USC §102

The Constitutional right to obtain a patent is subject to certain limitations, including that an inventor ...

What’s In a Name? Unicorn Latte v. Unicorn Frappuccino

A rose by any other name is still a rose, but what about a Unicorn Latte? ...

So You Have A Phone App That You Want to Patent — Or Subject Matter Patentability

Subject matter patentability defines what types of inventions may receive patent protection, and favors physical objects. ...

Federally Registered Trademark Protects Brand Names

Many entrepreneurs and small businesses start their business by offering goods or services on the internet ...

Cannabis Trademarks In California

California voters approved Proposition 64, legalizing recreational marijuana use, subject to certain restrictions. It is now ...

Someone Is Using Your Brand Name! What Can Be Done?

Emerging businesses generally take a close look at expenditures, and may view trademark registration as a ...

Ten Million (10,000,000) Patents

The U.S. Patent & Trademark Office (PTO) anticipates that utility patent number 10,000,000 will issue sometime ...

DESIGN PATENTS — The IP Solution for Many Small Businesses

By: Sharon Adams May 2014 The U. S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO)  commemorated the issuance ...

Patent a Recipe?

Recently there have been many inquires about patenting a recipe. Many of these inquires are related ...

Good News for Yoga Practitioners and Speech Advocates — Bikram not entitled to copyright his Sequence

On October 8, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals in California affirmed a previous ruling by a federal ...

Nikola vs. Tesla – Design Patent Litigation – What Would Nikola Tesla Think?

Design patents can be an effective method of protecting the look of a product or brand. ...

Copyright Protection May Be Available for Professional Engineering Plans

Professional engineers (PEs) often work as consultants, rather than employees.  If a PE is an employee, ...

Trademark Specimen of Use — Is “TM” or ® OK to use in a specimen of use?

It is the policy of the  U.S. Patent & Trademark Office (PTO) that trademarks may not be warehoused, ...

For Profit Corporation Means Just That — Maximizing Profits to Shareholders is Essential

Corporate law requires corporations to maximize profits to shareholders.   This absolute requirement may expose corporate leadership ...

Trademark Marijuana Products?

Products that are used to smoke marijuana received U.S. federal trademark registration in November 2018. Yet ...

It’s a Fine Line Between Hate and Love – U.S. Supreme Court on Trademarks

FIRST AMENDMENT PROTECTS DISPARAGING TRADEMARKS A few years back a rock band tried to trademark its ...

First Amendment Protects Trademarks That Inspire Fear

Mongols Nation Motorcycle Club Keeps Its Trademark The First Amendment may not come to mind when ...

Scandalous Words Can Be A Registered Trademark

Three In a Row for First Amendment Protection of Trademarks Trademark law prohibits registration of a scandalous or ...

Trademark Registration — Principal Register and Supplemental Register Compared

It often happens that a business chooses a descriptive trademark for its brand name or products. ...

Registered Trademark Needed for Benefits of Amazon Brand Registry

Rush to Register Trademarks Is On! More and more independent merchants are opening businesses and using ...

Bloomberg Uses NDAs – When Should A Business Have an NDA

Presidential candidate Michael Bloomberg was challenged over his use of Non-Disclosure Agreements (NDAs) with women from ...

Showing Use of Trademark For Clothing

Every trademark application filed with the United States Patent & Trademark Office (USPTO) must show use ...

Trademark a Slogan?

Businesses often want to trademark a phrase or slogan that is commonly used in their business. ...