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On November 14, 2016, the Federal Circuit handed a small but important victory to a small Illinois church in its trademark saga dispute with adidas AG, a sport apparel giant, reversing the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board’s (TTAB) decision in adidas AG v. Christian Faith Fellowship Church, Cancellation No. 92053314 (September 14, 2015) [not precedential]. In the underlying TTAB proceeding, adidas sought to cancel the Church’s ADD A ZERO trademark registrations ...

... TRAVELER BLONDE for beer over the prior mark TIME TRAVELER for “beer, ale and lager” despite the consent by the owner of the cited mark. In re Bay State Brewing Company, Inc., Serial No. 85826258 (February 25, 2016) [precedential] (http://ttabvue.uspto.gov/ttabvue/ttabvue-85826258-EXA-8.pdf). Generally, consent agreements can be an efficient path to registration in situations where the parties agree that confusion between their respective marks is unlikely. Usually the USPTO gives considerable ...

... getting access to the Blog’s postings. The Sputnik Blog agrees that number 1 should be B&B Hardware Inc. v. Hargis Industries Inc. This is a U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling in March 2015: decisions handed down by the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (TTAB) could, in certain situations, later be considered binding on a federal court. See Sputnik Blog's posting (http://maxvoltchenko.com/en/blog/Sputnik/us-supreme-court-what-happens-at-ttab-need-not-stay-there-and-rules-th/). The Supreme Court noted: ...

The owner of the REUBEN’S BREWS mark took the risk, appealed the US Patent and Trademark Office’s (USPTO) refusal to the USPTO’s Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (TTAB or the Board) and won. It can now drink the Champagne as the victor. ""Beer [or wine?] is proof that God loves us and wants us to be happy"" Ben Franklin The Sputnik Blog® does not often discuss TTAB decisions,...

On March 24, 2015, the US Supreme Court handed down a long-anticipated opinion in a trademark case. It held that decisions of the US Trademark Office’s Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (TTAB) may, in some cases between the same parties, have preclusive effect on likelihood of confusion issues and therefore be binding on a district court in a subsequent case: So long as the other ordinary elements of issue preclusion are met, when ...

On March 2, 2015, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit (CAFC) affirmed a decision of the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (TTAB) in which the TTAB cancelled the registration of David Couture for the PLAYDOM service mark for entertainment services. CAFC agreed with the TTAB that actual rendering of services is required for a service mark to be considered to be “used in commerce” ...

... administrative proceeding or sue that party in a district court. The issue came from B&B Hardware Inc. v. Hargis Industries Inc. et al., and is framed as follows: whether an earlier ruling by U.S. Trademark Office’s Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (TTAB or Board) on the registration question should preclude a later, opposite confusion ruling on the infringement question. Generally, the TTAB determines only the right to secure a registration of a mark or to maintain one. District courts determine ...

The ninth commandment of the Bible reminds us not to lie. The Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (TTAB or the Board) of the US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) reiterated this commandment in its own way when it cancelled the application of an insurance agent who tried to register the mark NATIONSTAR in an opposition proceeding and was not truthful,...

... registrations on the ground that the term “Redskins” was disparaging Native Americans at the time of the registration. Amanda Blackhorse, Marcus Briggs-Cloud, Philip Gover, Jillian Pappan, and Courtney Tsotigh v. Pro-Football, Inc., 111 USPQ2d 1080 (TTAB 2014) [precedential]. In United States, like in many other countries, you cannot register a trademark if the trademark is immoral, deceptive, or scandalous, or contains a “matter may disparage or falsely suggest a connection with persons ...