For more than half a century, Marvel Comics and DC Comics have jointly owned the trademark ‘Superhero.’ However, the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board recently granted a petition to cancel that mark because it became generic. Scott Hervey and James Kachmar discuss this case and how marks become generic on this episode of The
TTAB
The Briefing: Affiliate Marketing vs Retail Services – TTAB’s Landmark Ruling
Find out why Gabby’s Table was denied registration in a major Trademark decision that impacts affiliate marketing. Weintraub attorneys Scott Hervey and Jamie Lincenberg break down what this means for your business in this episode of “The Briefing.”Continue Reading The Briefing: Affiliate Marketing vs Retail Services – TTAB’s Landmark Ruling
Patent, Trademark, and Copyright Deadlines Extended Due to COVID-19
On March 31, 2020, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office announced that, pursuant to the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act, certain deadlines for patent and trademark applications would be extended. The CARES Act authorizes the PTO to toll, waive, or modify any patent or trademark deadline in effect during the COVID-19 emergency. The announcements were made in written Notices of Waiver, one each for patents and trademarks, posted on the PTO’s website.
In order to exercise the power under the CARES Act, the PTO Director must determine that the COVID-19 pandemic materially affects the functioning of the PTO; prejudices the rights of patent applicants, trademark registrants, or patent/trademark owners; or prevents patent applicants, trademark registrants, or patent/trademark owners from making a filing or paying a fee in the PTO.
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No Trademark Protection In Book or Movie Titles?!?
Generally, the title to a single motion picture is not entitled to trademark protection. This is the same for the title to single books, songs and other singular creative works. Most non-trademark attorneys are surprised when I tell them this. I am sure you may be scratching your head as well. The logic behind the legal principle that the title to a single creative work cannot function as a trademark is as follows: a title to a single creative work such as a book serves to identify only the book and not the source of that book. Another reason trademark law generally refuses to acknowledge trademark rights in the title to a single creative work, such as a book, results from the interplay between copyright and trademark law. While trademarks endure as long as the mark is used, copyrights eventually expire. When a work falls into the public domain, others would have the right to reproduce the literary work. However, if the title to the book enjoyed trademark protection, this would compromise the policy of public domain under copyright law because a book with a trademarked title could only be published under a different title.
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Unprotectable Generic Trademarks + Top-Level Domains = Protectable Trademarks
Generic trademarks are those which, due to their popularity and/or common usage, have become synonymous with the products or services. Such trademarks include Kleenex, Band-Aid, Jeep, Aspirin, and Cellophane. Such marks, generally, cannot be federally registered or protected under the Lanham Act due to the marks direct reference to the class of product or service…