Geographic trademarks have traditionally been of great importance for many business owners. This is especially true for business owners selling food products, non-alcoholic beverages, and alcoholic beverages, such as beers, wines and spirits. Disclosure of the geographic origin of some goods can often indicate to the prospective consumer significant information about the nature and [...]
From a trademark perspective, nothing serves as a stronger identifier than an individual’s personal name. But does this make personal names appropriate for trademark registration? Trademark law has always treated personal names differently. In the past, a person was free to use his or her name as a trademark and was not obligated to [...]
Since the passage of the 2018 Farm Bill, hemp was removed from the Controlled Substances Act (CSA) list of Schedule I substances and will be treated the same as any other commodity crop. As such, when hemp plants are properly sourced, the cannabinoid (CBD) extracts are also legal. However, industrial hemp manufacturers must be [...]
YES! As of May 2017, Amazon’s Brand Registry program requires every brand owner to hold a registered (or pending) federal trademark that is associated with the product being sold in the Amazon marketplace. Amazon Brand Registry – Pre-Enrollment To enroll a brand in Amazon’s Brand Registry, a brand owner must provide the following information [...]
In our competitive free economy, copying and imitating business concepts and market trends in the public domain is the general rule, protected intellectual property (e.g., trademark, copyright, patent) is the exception. Copying and Imitation as Fair Competition "The Creative Commons proposed in 2010 the Public Domain Mark (PDM) as symbol to indicate that a work [...]
Trademarks promote economic efficiency in the marketplace in at least two ways: (1) trademarks encourage businesses to create, manufacture and promote quality products, and (2) trademarks reduce customer costs related to shopping and making purchasing decisions. . UCLA economists A. Alchian and W.R Allen co-authored Exchange and Production: Competition, Coordination, and Control. The authors [...]
Business owners and entrepreneurs alike should understand the importance of holding a federal trademark registration for a service or product. Not only is a registered trademark on the federal principal register an extremely valuable asset, the protections afforded by a registered trademark are of paramount importance to maintaining brand image in connection with a service [...]
This is Part 3 of a 6 Part Blog from out Charleston Trademark Attorney. Past Posts: Part 1, Part 2 Part 3: Overbroad Goods and Services Descriptions United States trademark law is unique and different compared to trademark law in foreign countries and what may seem like common sense. Whether an individual is new to the area of [...]
This is Part 2 of a 6 Part Blog from our Charleston Trademark Attorney. Past Posts: Part 1 Part 2: Trademark Search and Clearance United States trademark law is unique and different compared to trademark law in foreign countries and what may seem like common sense. Whether an individual is new to the area of [...]
This is Part 1 of a 6 Part blog from our Charleston Trademark Attorney. Part 1: Trademark Priority and Trademark Distinctiveness United States trademark law is unique and different compared to trademark law in foreign countries and what may seem like common sense. Whether an individual is new to the area of trademark law as [...]
