In Defense of Ohio State’s Application to Register THE as a Trademark
Watch: IP and Advertising Basics for Cannabis Companies
Business is booming for cannabis ventures, but the legal landscape for related intellectual property protection and product advertising is rife with complications that demand special consideration, and companies should be paying attention to these issues out of the gate.
Foley Hoag presents a webinar covering a range of topics related to cannabis IP protection and promotion, including:
Maximizing trademark rights at the federal and state level
Leveraging copyright as secondary protection for brands
Cannabis patent…
NEW USPTO RULE REQUIRES FOREIGN PARTIES TO HAVE A U.S. ATTORNEY
By: Michael Geller
A new rule from the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office imposes a substantial new requirement on companies and individuals outside of the U.S. Starting August 3, foreign applicants and registrants must be represented by a U.S. attorney. All new applications, renewal filings and Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (“TTAB”) disputes filed on behalf of a foreign company must be filed by a U.S. attorney.
The new requirement applies only to “foreign-domiciled” individuals…
Supreme Court to Decide Whether Trademark Owner Must Prove Willful Infringement to Obtain an Infringer’s Profits
Son of Tam: Supreme Court Strikes Down Lanham Act Section 2(a) For “Immoral” and “Scandalous” Marks
F-*-C-T – U.S. SUPREME COURT STRIKES DOWN BAN ON REGISTRATION OF IMMORAL OR SCANDALOUS MARKS
By: John Nading
The U.S. Supreme Court issued its most recent decision yesterday picking away at the same clause of the Lanham Act, Section 2(a), 15 U.S.C. § 1052(a), and this time finding that the United States Patent and Trademark Office’s (PTO) prohibition on the registration of “immoral” or “scandalous” marks is a violation of the First Amendment’s free speech rights. Iancu v. Brunetti (2019). Two terms ago, in Matal v. Tam, 582 U.S.…
Q&A SESSION WITH UK ADVERTISING STANDARDS AUTHORITY (ASA) CHIEF EXECUTIVE GUY PARKER
By: Claire Sng
I had the rare opportunity last week to put some questions directly to Guy Parker, the ASA’s Chief Executive, during a Q&A session at an industry conference on Advertising and Marketing Law.
I asked two questions relating to influencers and transparency of social media posts.
This clearly remains a critical issue for brands. Not only does the user of influencers continue to grow, but where an influencer gets it wrong and there…
TOP 10 IP DEVELOPMENTS IN CHINA
BY EDWARD CHATTERTON, HORACE LAM AND JOANNE ZHANG
Amendments to Key IP Laws
On 23 April 2019 China passed amendments to two major IP laws -the Trademark Law and the Anti-Unfair Competition Law (AUCL).
Specifically, the Trademark Law has been amended in order to tackle bad faith trademark filings without an intent to use by way of clarifying Article 4 of the law. The newly amended Article 4 provides that a bad faith trademark…
PRIZE PROMOTIONS AROUND THE WORLD: LAUNCH OF NEW EDITION
The fourth edition of DLA Piper’s popular Prize Promotions Around the World online guide is now available. The guide has been fully updated and also includes four new jurisdictions, to bring the total coverage to 39 jurisdictions.
Prize promotions (including promotional sweepstakes and skill competitions) remain a hugely popular marketing tool used globally by organisations to engage with customers. The internet and social media platforms make this an attractive, cost efficient means of reaching a…
Supreme Court: Trademark Owners Cannot Reject Licenses in Bankruptcy
On Monday, May 20, 2019, the United States Supreme Court issued an 8-1 decision holding that a bankrupt company’s decision to reject an existing license of its trademarks does not terminate a licensee’s right to continue using the licensed trademarks.
This decision settles a longstanding split among circuit courts, which has been one of the most significant unresolved issues in trademark licensing. Bankruptcy permits debtors to reject most contracts to eliminate their obligations. Until today,…