Court: Federal Circuit

The decision limits the tools that the USPTO can use to punish and deter mark owners who make fraudulent Section 15 filings.

09 November 2023

The Federal Circuit has overturned years of precedent in a move that will be welcomed by defendants, while plaintiffs are left scratching their heads over how to prove that a mark is not in use.

09 August 2023

In reversing and remanding a TTAB decision, an appeal court has reaffirmed that carefully and accurately applying DuPont factors is critical in disputes involving similar registered and unregistered trademarks.

03 August 2023

The US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit upheld the TTAB’s refusal to register the mark SPARK LIVING due to its “close similarity” with the earlier registered mark SPARK.

15 May 2023

In its reversal of a TTAB decision, an appeal court has reaffirmed the need for rights holders to demonstrate that their pre-existing mark covers all services specified in their new application in order to tack the latter’s use to the former’s earlier priority date.

27 April 2023

The decision serves as a warning that acquisition of a prior mark does not always afford a basis for tacking on prior rights.

25 April 2023

In reversing an examining attorney’s refusal of trademark registrations by the New York Times, the TTAB has promoted the three-factor Lens.com test as the gold standard for registrability.

20 April 2023

In the context of related goods, the likelihood of confusion analysis does not require that actual or potential consumers of the goods be the same.

11 April 2023