trademark
EP’s Louboutin Decision Opens the Door for U.S. Businesses to Protect Their Color/Shape Brands in Europe
In a recent, game changing decision, European Union’s highest court (EU High Court) has ruled that Christian Louboutin’s famous red sole shoes are eligible for protection as a trademark. This article discussed the significance of the decision and the opportunity it provides U.S. fashion designers to promote and protect their color brands in the European…
Hybrid Strategy for Optimal Protection of Cannabis Intellectual Property
As of the date of this article, nine states and Washington, DC, have legalized Cannabis for recreational use. Another 21 states have legalized medicinal use of Cannabis. According to a recent report Legal marijuana sales topped $9.5 billion in North America in 2017, representing a 33% increase over 2016, and sales are projected to reach…
What is the ‘Right of Publicity”?
Most people have heard of well-known categories of intellectual property law such as trademark or copyright, but there is another type that you might not know, and all of us own one – the right of publicity. Don’t be misled by the word “publicity”; this right does not require you to be a celebrity pursued…
Homemade Inventions Deserve Patents, Too
In my many encounters with inventors around the country, I find that many believe that patents may only be issued for completely new inventions. However, U.S. patent law does not require that a new product or process to resemble something from a science fiction movie; a useful modification or improvement of an existing device or…
Maintaining Your Patent Right, Trademark Right and Copyright
Patent, trademark and copyright are all part of intellectual property right. However, the way to obtain and maintain these rights differs from each other. Because many clients have been confused by it, I think it would be helpful to provide a quick summary about their differences. Obtaining the Right To obtain a trademark right, the…
Protecting Jewelry Designs
Sales of Jewelry have been soaring over the past decade, with worldwide sales in 2016 totaling over US$300 billion dollars. Helped by instant world-wide access provided by Social Media, many jewelry designers have found themselves on the short end of the stick when their designs are pilfered. This article addresses various intellectual property tools that…
Got Rights? A Jenner or Kardashian Will Probably Infringe Them
I really thought I wouldn’t be writing about this again. I thought that Kylie Jenner and her sisters would hire and listen to knowledgeable and competent trademark and copyright attorneys for their future business endeavors, after: Kylie Jenner infringed several of multi-platinum singer Kylie Minogue’s trademarks; and, then she and her sister, Kendal Jenner, infringed…
Your Trademark Can Become Useless If You Can’t Prove Use
A U.S. trademark registration must be maintained every five years, and renewed every ten, to keep it active and enforceable. A component of this is the trademark owner filing an affidavit with the Trademark Office, stating the trademark owner is still using the mark in connection with the goods and services in the registration. The…
Filing Trademark Application Covering Multiple International Classes
In the United States and most counties, the products or services for which trademarks are registered are categorized using the 45 product classes of the International Classification of Goods and Services under the Nice Agreement. Classes 1 to 34 are used for goods and classes 35 to 45 for services. For examples, dietary supplements fall…