The Trademark Trial and Appeals Board (TTAB) recently had one of its decisions reversed by the DC Circuit. Bureau National Interprofessionnel du Cognac [“Cognac Institute”] v. Cologne and Cogac Entertainment centered on the plaintiff’s opposition to the defendant’s mark COLOGNE AND COGNAC ENTERTAINMENT. Certification marks have the same protections as trademarks. The opposers, the Cognac…
Great Concepts vs. Chutter is a case from the Federal Circuit that addressed the extent to which fraud at the Trademark Office can be punished in connection with a particular kind of application. The Federal Circuit ultimately reviewed and reversed the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board’s long-standing practice of canceling trademarks when a renewal application…
Though an office action refusing registration can be disappointing, the road doesn’t have to end there, as shown by In Re Black Card LLC, where the TTAB recently reversed the decision of an examining attorney. Black Card filed to register the trademark FOLLOW THE LEADER in several different classes, including those for credit card incentive…
TTAB rulings are sometimes less exciting than cases we pluck from the federal judiciary — but this one involves Prince and the mark PURPLE RAIN. NPG Records (NPG) and Paisley Park Enterprises (Paisley Park) filed an opposition to the attempt of Bang Energy Drink to register the mark PURPLE RAIN for the sports supplements and…
Cervejaria Petropolis SA v. Ambev S.A. comes our way from the Federal Circuit Court of Appeals in D.C., via the TTAB. In this case, Ambev had applied to the USPTO for registration of the mark FUSION, but was barred by the registration of the appellant, Cervejaria Petropolis (CP) for the same mark. CP had inherited the FUSION…
A recent, precedential decision from the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (TTAB) examined the difference between a source identifier, and informational text that just happens to appear close to a logo. In Re TracFone, Inc. concerned cellular provider TracFone’s failed application for the mark UNLIMITED CARRYOVER as a trademark on the Principal Register. The question before the…
The Trademark Trial and Appeal Board, or TTAB, issued an interesting ruling at the end of 2018. The TTAB is in effect the forum providing review of decisions rendered by the US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) trademark examining attorneys. The case in question is Rebecca Curtin v. United Trademark Holding Inc (“UTH”). UTH filed a trademark…