Your Trademark and the United States Patent and Trademark Office ("USPTO")
1. Do I have to register my trademark with the USPTO to protect my trademark?
No, registration is not necessary for protection, but it does provide additional protection over an unregistered mark.1 Anyone who uses a…
1. What is a trademark?
A trademark can be “any word, name, symbol, or device” (alone or in combination) used to identify and differentiate goods or services from competitors and to indicate the source of the goods or services, even if the source is…
Choosing a strong trademark can be more difficult than it looks. The risk of the mark being used by a third party as well as the risk of the mark being found as merely descriptive of the business, goods, or services offered is cause for concern. While there are many nuances in picking and…
On June 13, 2016, the Supreme Court issued an important decision regarding when enhanced damages are available in patent infringement litigation. Halo Electronics, Inc. v. Pulse Electronics, Inc., Case No. 14-1513 (June 13, 2016) and Stryker Corporation, v. Zimmer, Inc. Case No. 14–1520. In short,…
On April 11 and April 27, 2016, the Senate and House passed respectively the Defend Trade Secrets Act of 2016 (DTSA). The President indicated he will sign DTSA into law. The DTSA provides a federal civil cause of action for trade secret misappropriation with various remedies available. The DTSA…
The United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit ruled unconstitutional Section 2(a) of the Lanham Act. In Re Simon Shiao Tam, (Case 2014-1203, Decided December 22, 2015). Section 2(a) of the Lanham Act barred the Trademark Office (“PTO”) from registering scandalous, immoral, or…
