Social Media Ideas for Acquired Distinctiveness

A Lapsed Trademark Registration Doesn’t Always Mean the Brand is Up for Grabs

9th Circ. Cooler Ruling Chills 1st Mover Lanham Act Claims

The Ninth Circuit's recent decision in Vericool World v. Igloo Products that Vericool's claim of being first-to-market with an ecocooler was not actionable under the Lanham Act lar...

The importance of genuine use of a registered trademark to preserve its value

Registering a trademark is one of the most important steps in protecting the identity of a business, product, or service against third parties. However, obtaining a trademark regis...

Beyond the Logo: 7-Eleven v. Nike and the New Frontier of Brand Identity

Trademark law has traditionally protected the most recognizable aspects of a brand: names, logos, and slogans. Increasingly, however, companies are asking courts to protect somethi...

TTAB's Everwise Decision Highlights Token-Use Pitfalls

The Trademark Trial and Appeal Board's recent cancellation of Everwise Credit Union's registration for the standard character mark "Everwise Credit Union" offers a detailed road ma...

Afternoon Brief, June 29

Distinctive Brand Names Pay off for Wine Producers, Study Finds: In a sea of thousands of Bordeaux wines, UChicago Law analysis offers rare evidence for what trademarks are really...

Trademark Protection for Farms, Food Businesses, and Agricultural Brands

Trademark Protection for Farms, Food Businesses, and Agricultural Brands should be considered before a business invests heavily in packaging, signs, websites, merchandise, or adver...

Public Squares or Private Estates: The Delhi High Court’s Doctrinal Shift in Keyword Advertising

In a significant ruling in Hindware v. Grohe, the Delhi High Court drew a distinction between the use of generic marks and coined, source-identifying marks like “Hindware” as keywo...

Investor Ares Defends Use Of 'Marq Logistics' TM

U.S. investment giant Ares has rejected claims it tried to profit from a London real estate business' success by using the "Marq Logistics" trademark, arguing that the U.K. company...

Construing Claims to Fit the Brand

"Now and Later": Using Design Patents and Trade Dress to Maximize Protection for Product Designs

Key Takeaways Two forms of intellectual property protection — design patents and trade dress— can offer distinct forms of protection for consumer products at different points in t...

High Court “Zips” Up Honest Concurrent Use

In a decision with major implications for brand strategy, the High Court of Australia has upheld a high bar for traders to adopt a brand name “honestly”. The High Court has handed...

House Marks without a Doctrine: The Unsettled Law Behind Flipkart vs. Marc

The Supreme Court’s refusal to stay the injunction in Flipkart v. Marc has brought an overlooked trademark question back into focus: can a well-known corporate or “house” brand red...

Bullseye- Luke Littler is Successful in Securing a Facial Trade Mark Registration

7th Circ. Affirms Grunt Style's $739K Army Motto TM Award

The Seventh Circuit has upheld a jury verdict that awarded Chicago T-shirt company Grunt Style LLC $739,000 against another company for infringing its trademark of the U.S. Army sl...

One more shot at Keyword Advertising……. aaaannndd Hit Wicket!

On 22 May 2026 the Delhi High Court held that Google infringes the trademark HINDWARE by letting rival sanitary ware sellers bid on that word as a Google Ads keyword. Arul Murugan’...

Rise and Shine: SCOTUS Wakes Up to a Trademark Fight

Awareness Can Be Bought. Loyalty Must Be Earned

FOR as long as I can remember, marketers have pursued awareness. The assumption was simple: if enough people knew your brand, more would buy from you. Today, while awareness is eas...

Supreme Court Takes Up Whether Trademark Strength Belongs to Judge or Jury

SCOTUS took RiseandShine v. PepsiCo to decide if trademark strength is fact or law, granting review over the Solicitor General's advice to deny. Continue reading this post on Paten...

In the Aftermath of Parle: Unsettling Questions for Trade Mark Law

What happens when trademark law privileges filing priority over marketplace reality? The Delhi High Court’s April 10 ruling in the ‘20-20’ dispute raises difficult questions about...

Up in Smoke: Eighth Circuit Sends Lanham Act Dispute to State Court

The US Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit affirmed dismissal of a trademark dispute on forum non conveniens grounds, finding that the Lanham Act claims concerning ownership an...

Starbucks Workers United Seeks OK For Name, Logo Use

Starbucks Workers United has asked a Pennsylvania federal court to declare that its name and logo do not infringe the coffee chain's trademarks because they differentiate the union...

When Reputation Travels but Goods Do Not: The Delhi HC on Transborder Reputation in the ‘Whistler’ Dispute

The Delhi High Court has once again weighed in on the evolving doctrine of transborder reputation, this time in a dispute over the mark ‘Whistler’ between an Irish whiskey producer...

Best of 2009: “Keeping it real — the ultimate use in commerce”

Originally posted 2009-12-27 16:56:22. Republished by Blog Post PromoterThis was first posted on May 7, 2009. The TTABlogВ® reports, again, on the fraud issue, but that’s not what...