Gene Markin

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Firm/Organization: Stark & Stark
Blogs: Construction & Transition Litigation Law Blog, New Jersey Law Blog

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In what may seem like a male-dominated industry, the legal cannabis market has attracted many female entrepreneurs and participants who are making a big difference. Encouraged by states’ support for and focus on minority participation, women are taking advantage of opportunities in the developing and maturing legal cannabis space. In fact, women hold nearly 27% of leadership roles in regulated cannabis compared to the 21% they hold in traditional businesses. Since women make about 80%…
A generic trademark or brand name is one that—due its popularity or common usage—has become synonymous with a general class of products or services. Famous trademark-turned- generic product names include Thermos and Velcro. Under U.S. trademark law, generic trademarks can never be federally registered and protected under the Lanham Act (the Trademark Act of 1946) because the mark name refers directly to the class of a product or service it belongs to and is incapable…
Last month, Congress approved the final 2018 version of Section 7607 of the Agricultural Act of 2014 (the “Farm Bill”), which received bipartisan support in the Senate. The Bill removes “hemp,” a variety of the Cannabis sativa plant species, from the Federal Controlled Substances Act (“CSA”) and legalizes hemp cultivation as an agricultural commodity similar to grain, meat, and dairy. Commentators expect the historic new Farm Bill to considerably encourage and promote innovation, development, production,…
Risk management is important for any business let alone a startup in a developing industry, but it takes on a whole new meaning for cannabis companies looking to make their mark on the burgeoning cannabis market. As more and more states go green and join the mounting number of sovereigns that permit, tax, and regulate medical and adult-use marijuana, the need for cannabis related banking, insurance, and real estate continues to grow. As any cannabis…
In a precedential Trademark Trial and Appeal board (TTAB) decision, the Board held that an applied-for trademark consisting of multiple colors on product packaging, without any distinct shape, pattern or design, can never be inherently distinctive. See In re Forney Industries, Inc., Serial No. 86269096 (September 10, 2018). Applicant Forney Industries, Inc. sought to register a color scheme on the Principal Register, consisting of a black banner above a yellow to red color gradient for…
This is part 3 of a 3 part blog. Please click here to read Part 1 – Generic Marks. Please click here to read Part 2 – Merely Descriptive & Geographically Descriptive.  A mark can be refused registration if it bears a significant resemblance to a government insignia. In In re Shabby Chic Brands LLC, 122 USPQ2d 1139 (TTAB 2017), Shabby Chic Brands, LLC sought to register an image of “an ornate, feathered crown”…
This is part 2 of a 3 part blog. Please click here to read Part 1 – Generic Marks. Please click here to read Part 3 – Government Insignia & Surname.  Trademarks are also non-registrable under the Lanham Act if the mark, when used in connection with applicant’s goods or services, is merely descriptive of them. 15 U.S.C. § 1052(e)(1). In a recent case, In re Houston Bites, LLC, Serial No. 87170141, applicant Houston Bites…
Trademarks are product differentiators that help consumers recognize familiar brands that customers have come to associate with a certain perceived level of goodwill, reputation, quality, taste, consistency, and style. A form of shorthand, a unique signature of sorts, a trademark signals to consumers the source or origin of a particular good or service. Walking into a McDonalds, we know how a cheeseburger is going to taste. Seeing a red and white striped curved awning with…
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This is part 1 of a 3 part blog. Please click here to read Part 2 – Merely Descriptive & Geographically Descriptive. Please click here to read Part 3 – Government Insignia & Surname. Despite being used lawfully in commerce, a trade or service mark may be refused registration by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (“USPTO”) under Section 2 of the Trademark Act of 1946 (the “Lanham Act”) if the proposed mark…
Courts recognize four trademark categories within which every mark must fall: (1) Generic marks, (2) Descriptive marks, (3) Suggestive marks, and (4) Arbitrary or Fanciful marks.[i] At the far end on the spectrum, warranting the greatest level of trademark protection, stands arbitrary or fanciful marks—those words which offer no inherent description of the product. On the opposite end of the spectrum lies generic marks—those made up of common descriptors to which courts afford no…