When companies think about intellectual property protection, they often focus on the product itself while overlooking the packaging that consumers often notice first. Yet for many consumer brands, distinctive packaging drives purchasing decisions, reinforces brand identity, and can be as
Taylor Swift’s team recently filed new trademark applications for two sound marks for Taylor’s voice, and one design mark for a glittering image from the Eras Tour:
Trademark U.S. Serial No. 99/784,977
On March 13, 2026, and effective immediately, the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) published a notice of “Supplemental Guidance for Examination of Design Patent Applications Related to Computer-Generated Interfaces and Icons” in the Federal Register (“Supplemental Guidance”), with
With the Masters Tournament beginning tomorrow, this article is a timely reposting of our 2020 article on trademark rights in the iconic Green Jacket design.
Each year on March 5, the U.S. design community celebrates National Industrial Design Day, a moment to recognize the professionals behind the products we use every day. First entered into the U.S. Congressional Record in 2015, the day acknowledges that
The United States Patent and Trademark Office (“USPTO”) announced on February 10, 2026 that it has added a new category to its Trademark Design Search Code Manual for sound and motion marks. The Manual now includes new Category 30,
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit’s recent decision in Range of Motion Products v. Armaid is another reminder that, if care is not taken, design patent scope can be narrowed significantly in the U.S. through functionality analysis—often
For many product-focused companies, design often is the product. Differentiation lives in surface ornamentation, overall look-and-feel, and visual details that drive purchasing decisions often long before utility is evaluated. Against that backdrop, many brands are reexamining copyright law as a
As we wrote about recently here, Examiners continue to rely on the USPTO’s current guidance on the definiteness standard set forth by the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit (“Federal Circuit”) in In re Maatita, 900 F.3d 1369, 1377
On August 8, 2025, Baylor University filed a federal lawsuit against Boston University alleging trademark infringement and unfair competition over Boston University’s use of an interlocking BU design.
