The Twitter rebrand to “X” is the trademark story of the year. Here’s a few reasons why: The Twitter trademark is known (and protected) around the world.Elon Musk’s recent decision to rebrand Twitter as “X,” abandoning a globally recognized and protected trademark in favor of a new one is unprecedented. Registering trademarks in the United States and overseas can take […]
The United States Patent and Trademark Office recently released a new plan outlining its proposed changes to trademark filing fees. The proposed plan includes an increase to many of the most common fees associated with trademarks. If approved, the plan can be expected to raise fees by November 2024. What fees are being raised? While fees are being raised across […]
Tom Brady has filed a Notice of Opposition to block the registration of a “B2” logo that he believes is too similar to his registered “TB12” trademark. The legal proceeding instituted by Brady blocks the application for the “B2” logo. If the owner of the logo decides to defend the action, the case could take two or more years to […]
On November 14, 2022, Odell Beckham, Jr. (OBJ) filed a lawsuit against Nike for Breach of Contract, among other things. A more in-depth breakdown of this lawsuit is in the works but we wanted to give you a chance to read the Complaint yourself. Read the complaint
The USPTO has recently announced that starting on December 3, 2022, trademark applicants will now only have 3-months to respond to an Office action. This is now half the time of the current 6-month period. This now creates an urgency among trademark applicants to respond quicker to Office actions, as they only have a few months to respond (as opposed to […]
How intellectual property is relevant to NFTs NFTs have exploded in recent years and many questions are emerging around how trademarks can be used as a strategy to protect NFT brands. We’ve completed this guide to help NFT users navigate through the trademark waters. What is a trademark? Federally registered trademark protection is always important when it comes to protecting […]
America’s biggest universities are starting to make plans for the metaverse and Web3. In June, Arizona State University filed seven new trademark applications, which claim the school will soon begin offering: NFTs of event tickets. NFTs of campus landmarks and scenery. NFTs of sports highlights (video and audio). “Virtual goods” such as clothing that can be worn in virtual environments. […]
I have a “heads up” for anyone that has filed a trademark application recently: In a completely unforced error, the United States Patent & Trademark Office may have just exposed your email address to scammers. If you receive an email related to your trademark (that is not from the attorney who filed your application), be very suspicious of it and forward […]
Recent trademark filings made by Lamar Jackson (the star quarterback of the Baltimore Ravens) provide a great lesson in how to select unique trademarks. On May 13, 2022, Jackson filed two trademarks for a new restaurant that he plans to open. The first filing is for the name of his restaurant: “PLAY ACTION” The second filing is for the restaurant’s slogan: “YOU […]
The United States and other Western nations imposed harsh economic sanctions against Russia in response to its brutal invasion of Ukraine. Those sanctions have dealt a serious blow to the Russian economy, but ripple effects are now being felt by foreign companies that have patents, trademarks, or other intellectual property in Russia. Russia has begun to take steps to make […]
Major brands are beginning to prepare for the metaverse. In the past few months, hundreds of trademark filings have been made to protect iconic brands in this new digital frontier. I recently spoke to AdAge about how trademark filings for the metaverse were not even on my radar until late in 2021. Nowadays, I talk to clients almost daily about […]
One of the most talked about sports topic these days is surrounding the upcoming reveal of Washington Football Team’s new name in early February. While everyone speculates as to what the new name will be, what we can agree on is that it’s likely that the team has already filed a trademark application for its new name. The question is where […]