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Trademark Office Issues Decision to Cancel Registrations for REDSKINS Marks

After a long battle, the US Patent and Trademark Office has issued a decision to cancel trademark registrations used in connection with the Washington Redskins football franchise (Pro-Football, Inc., doing business as The Washington Redskins) that consist in whole or in part of the term REDSKINS. DECISION HERE. The trademark office found that the registrations must be cancelled because they are disparaging to Native Americans. The request to cancel the trademarks was made by five individuals back in August 2006. ...

What makes a great brand? A legal perspective.

By Kelly Weiner

According to Brandchannel.com (Interbrand), great brands share the following principal attributes: (1) a compelling idea; (2) a resolute core purpose; and (3) a central organized principle.[1] What else do Interbrand’s top 100 brands of 2013 share [2]? Nearly every brand incorporates a strong source-identifying trademark. US trademark law evaluates the strength of a trademark along the following continuum (from weakest rights to strongest rights): generic, descriptive, suggestive, arbitrary, and fanciful. What is a generic term? Office Supply Store when used in...

Pinterest’s Trademark Application Opposed in the European Union

By Kelly Weiner

A cautionary tale for US businesses that currently offer products or services in the European Union or intend to do so in the near future. In 2012, Pinterest, Inc. filed a trademark application in the European Union (a CTM application) for its trademark PINTEREST. Premium Interest filed an application for PINTEREST only 10 days earlier. Pinterest opposed Premium Interest’s application. Premium Interest opposed Pinterest’s application. Pinterest’s opposition against Premium Interest’s application was rejected. Pinterest has appealed this decision and action...

Defining the Scope of your Goods/Services – Class Headings

By Kelly Weiner

Unlike many other trademark offices, the US trademark office does not permit the use of class headings to identify the goods or services in a registration. A common filing strategy for applicants (particularly foreign applicants and other applicants that rely on foreign registrations as the basis for registration in the US) is to include the class headings in an initial application, with the intention of later narrowing the scope of the goods or services at a later time. In a...