The San Diego Padres recently took control of the Amarillo minor league baseball organization. The organization will serve at the Padres’ Double A affiliate. In the spirit of new beginnings, the organization recently held a public naming contest to determine its new mascot. After the contest had concluded, the Sod Poodles were selected as the
TTAB’s Refusal To Register Trademark Reveals Important Lesson For Trademark Attorneys
By Scott Hervey on
The Trademark Trial and Appeals Board’s recent ruling in In re Productos Verde Valle, S.A. de C.V. upholding a trademark examiner’s refusal to register the mark SONIA for “sauces; chili sauce; hot sauce” holds a lesson for those of us that regularly advise clients on the registrability (and usability) of trademarks. Assuming Verde Valle conducted…
IP Challenges Again Take the Stage at the U.S. Supreme Court
By Jo Dale Carothers on
Posted in IP, IP Law Blog Lawyers In The News
Intellectual property disputes will again take their place on stage at the U.S. Supreme Court this term when the court addresses at least two IP questions. 1. Can the government challenge patents under the America Invents Act (“AIA”)? 2. Do trademark licenses survive Chapter 11 bankruptcy? These questions are presented in two cases in which…
Trademark Registration and the Presumption of Secondary Meaning
By James Kachmar on
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit was recently tasked with reviewing determinations made by the International Trade Commission (“ITC”) relating to trade infringement claims brought by Converse, Inc. with regard to a number of imported shoes that it alleged infringed on one of its trademarks. Although Converse sneakers have had largely the…
Ordering Pizza is Not Patentable!
By Audrey A Millemann on
Some things are not patentable: laws of nature, natural phenomena, and abstract ideas. The Supreme Court has long held that inventions falling within these categories are not patentable; they are patent-ineligible subject matter. In 2014, the Supreme Court relied on this principle in deciding Alice Corp. Pty. Ltd. v. CLS Bank International, 134 S. Ct.