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“Sacksonville” is a term that refers to the high success rate of the NFL’s Jacksonville Jaguars’ defense. The team recently applied for a trademark to protect the phrase, however, one of the Jaguars’ former defensive players filed an opposition, stating he has been using the mark to sell merchandise. Yahoo Sports referred to Josh Gerben’s quote during its reporting of the story.
LA Gear, a shoe company whose popularity peaked in the 90s, has opposed trademark filings for the NFL teams LA RAMS and LA CHARGERS, stating that consumers could confuse the LA RAMS and LA CHARGERS clothing items with LA GEAR shoes because of the use of “LA” in the trademarks. Josh Gerben was quoted by CBS Sports about LA Gear’s chances of winning their argument.
While most people are used to words, phrases and logos being protected by trademarks, candy companies have also applied for (and successfully registered) trademarks that protect the design of their confections. However, not all designs can be protected, as Nestle recently discovered in the European Union when their attempts to register the shape of the Kit Kat bar was thwarted. Josh Gerben was quoted by TIME Magazine, discussing the difficulty in determining distinctiveness regarding shape trademarks.
KitKat has been dealt a blow in their attempts to gain EU trademark protections of the KitKat’s four-finger shape. A European court ruled against Nestle, the makers of KitKat, in saying that the shape of the candy is not prevalent in all 28 members of the EU. Josh Gerben was quoted by the Associated Press, discussing how shape distinctiveness (and not just function) factors into a trademark application.
Gerben IP has been at the forefront of reporting on the increase of fraudulent applications being filed from China. As a response to these fraudulent filings (and others), the USPTO is considering a rule that would require foreign applications to hire a US attorney to prosecute a trademark application. Eric Perrott authored an op-ed for the World Trademark Review that discussed the benefits of the proposed Rule.
Since last year, the Las Vegas Golden Knights have been engaged in a battle towards registering their eponymous trademarks. They have now come closer to reaching their goal as the hockey team entered into a co-existence agreement with U.S. Army that will satisfy the latter’s concerns as it relates to their Army’s parachute team, which is also called the Golden Knights. Josh Gerben was quoted by ESPN about the trademark’s outcome as a result of the agreement.
It is been believed that an increase in trademark filings is due to subsidies that the Chinese government is offering those who achieve international trademark registrations. Josh Gerben was quoted by the Nikkei Asian Review regarding a possible reason behind the Chinese government subsidies.
The Buffalo Bills recently applied for a trademark to use the phrase “Respect the Process” on a variety of goods. Trademark attorney Josh Gerben pointed out that the Bills application could be blocked by Joel Embiid and was subsequently quoted by multiple media outlets.
Gerben IP is proud to announce that trademark attorney Josh Gerben has once again been named as one of the top 10 trademark filers in the United States. In its annual report on top trademark practitioners (called the WTR 1000), the World Trademark Review magazine listed Mr. Gerben as the #6 filer in the US, 3 spots higher than 2017’s rankings.
With the Stanley Cup Finals now set, ESPN provided an update on the Las Vegas Golden Knights NHL hockey team’s progress towards registering their team name and logo. With the College of St. Rose not filing a formal opposition, and the U.S. Army looking towards co-existence, the Golden Knights are making positive steps towards finalizing their marks. ESPN quoted Josh Gerben regarding the Army’s case for opposing the Golden Knights’ marks.
Corporate Counsel recently covered the increase in US trademark registrations from Chinese applications for the past few months. They also discussed what ramifications US-based businesses and the USPTO can expect from this increase. Eric Perrott and Corporate Counsel discuss the increase in filings.
The USPTO is experiencing an large increase in the number trademark applications from China. Some of these applications have been proven to be fraudulent. The Wall Street Journal and Josh Gerben discuss if the increase can be attributed to cash subsidies being offered by local Chinese governments.
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