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The Trademark Blog

Gerben IP’s Trademark Blog

The Basics, Trademark Filing

Navigating Trademark Examination Delays: Strategies for Businesses

In the dynamic landscape of business, where quick thinking is often the key to success, a significant roadblock has emerged that is testing the resilience of entrepreneurs – the extended wait time for the USPTO to examine trademark applications. This challenge has far-reaching implications and makes it difficult for businesses to make informed decisions, plan effective branding strategies, and navigate […]

Digital, In The News, Pop Culture

Twitter’s “X” Rebrand: What About the Trademarks?

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 […]

How To's, The Basics, Trademark Protection, Trademark Protection

Trademark Battles: A Guide to Filing or Responding to a Petition to Cancel

The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) received over 545,000 trademark applications in 2022. While examining attorneys review each application carefully prior to approval, they are limited in the scope of their examination to application data only. This sometimes leads to the registration of a trademark that is too similar to existing marks. If a damaging trademark has already […]

Government, In The News

USPTO Proposes Increase to Trademark Fees

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 […]

In The News, Sports

Tom Brady Files Court Action to Block A Similar Trademark

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 […]

General

Beware of a Trademark Scam Coming from USPTO.ORG

We were recently made aware of a brand new trademark scam by a client. The client received an unsolicited email from an entity called uspto.gov <noreply@uspto.org>. The email claimed that a “refund request” was issued with the USPTO and the trademark application in question was in danger. Here is what the email said: We have been notified by your Trademark […]

General, How To's, The Basics, Trademark Filing, Trademark Protection

Trademark Registration for BIMI Authentication

Have you heard of BIMI? It is a security feature for emails that helps your outgoing messages avoid someone’s spam filter.   To qualify for BIMI authentication, one of the requirements is that you have a trademark registered for the logo that will appear on the top left-hand corner of your outgoing messages. Having your emails blocked by spam filters isn’t […]

How To's, The Basics, Trademark Protection, Trademark Protection

What is Trade Dress and How Can It Protect Your Brand?

Three stripes on athletic clothing. Bright red bottoms on shoes. Light blue boxes for jewelry. Do these phrases invoke any particular brands? They should. The owners of these “trade dress” trademarks have poured hundreds of thousands, if not millions of dollars into the iconic designs and product markers to make them recognizable to consumers. “Trade dress” is a specific type of trademark […]

In The News, Sports

Odell Beckham Jr. Sues Nike for Breach of Contract

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

How To's, The Basics, Trademark Protection, Trademark Protection

Can You Add Goods and Services to a Trademark Registration?

Smart business owners often pivot, expand, and shift focus for their business in response to market demand, new trends, and new opportunities. If you are one of these business owners, and you own a registered trademark, you might have questions about how your existing trademark covers these new business opportunities. This article explores how and when to consider filing additional […]

Government, How To's, In The News, The Basics, Trademark Filing, Trademark Filing

USPTO Announces New 3-Month Deadline to Respond to Trademark Office Actions

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 […]

General

How Creators Can Recover Rights Under Copyright Termination

If you are a designer or creator, there is a good chance you’ve owned hundreds, if not thousands, of copyrights during your career. For creative professionals working on a contract basis, those copyrights will typically transfer to the person or company who paid for them. However, it is not always easy for a creator to know the value of their […]

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