The U.S. trademark office recently posted a notice concerning the potential for trademark hijacking of pending trademark applications. It is very easy for an unauthorized third party to pose as a trademark applicant or an authorized correspondent and enter non-approved
Michael Ratoza
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The PTO Is Watching For Trademark File Hijacking
The U.S. trademark office is vigilant in seeking to reduce fraud in trademark filings–both internal fraud by filers and external fraud by outside parties.Concerning unauthorized external filings to active trademark applications and registrations, the PTO is watching to prevent unauthorized…
Statutory Annotations Are NOT Copyrightable
It has long been held that legislative enactments–statutes–are not protectable by copyright, although non-official statutory annotations created by non-government entities can be copyrightable. Now, the Eleventh Circuit’s recent decision has determined that statutory annotations created by a legislature legislative committee…
More on Copyright Fair Use
Fair Use under the U.S. Copyright Act is nebulous and a playground for expensive litigation. The most recent case in point is the Eleventh Circuit’s second remand of Cambridge University Press against the Georgia university system. You will recall that…
Free License In Work Developed With Department Of Education Funding
The U.S. Department of Education has published notice of proposed rule making in the Federal Register that would require all recipients of DOE competitive grant funds to openly license all copyrightable work created with the grant funds.Proposed Regulations: Proposed §…
The Feds Are Taking Down The "Trademark Compliance Center"
Perhaps you may have received “invoices” in the past from the Trademark Compliance Center or the Trademark Compliance Office. These invoices seek compensation from trademark applicants for trademark filing services, but no services were ever provided. Now, the U.S. Attorney’s…
The CTM Is Changing !
The process of registering a trademark in the EU through OHIM’s CTM system is changing effective March 23, 2016. The OHIM name will be changed to EUIPO and CTM will become EUTM. Beyond this aesthetic, there are numerous substantive changes…
Is there A Santa Claus?
VIRGINIA, your little friends are wrong. They have been affected by the skepticism of a skeptical age. They do not believe except they see. They think that nothing can be which is not comprehensible by their little minds. All minds, …
Federal Circuit Allows Disparagement of Asians
The Federal Circuit Court of Appeals ruled this morning that it is illegal for the federal trademark office to refuse to register a trademark that disparages Asians. As pointedly explained by Judge Reyna:The Majority holds today that Mr. Tam’s speech,…