Trademark

Intent-to-Use Trademark Applications The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (“USPTO”) permits trademark owners to file a registration application even before the owner actually uses a trademark so long as the owner has a bona fide intention to use it in interstate commerce.   The so-call “Intent-to-Use” trademark registration application is a useful tool because it lets […]

Bloggers and Advertisers are Cautioned by New FTC Guidelines on Product Endorsements In our last post , we mistakenly wrote that the new FTC guidelines for product endorsements became effective on December 1, 2010.  That was an error; they became effective on December 1, 2009.

Trademarks (and service marks) identify the source of products and services, while trade names are short hand references to businesses. Some company names are, indeed, used as trademarks; that is, they identify the product or service of the owners.  Two that come to mind are Coca-cola® and Microsoft®.  Proper trademark usage requires placing your mark […]

You’ve expended time, money, blood, sweat and tears branding your products and services.  You are finally ready to take the next logical step, setting up a web site to establish your presence on the Internet.  You set about to register your trademark as a domain name and you find that a trademark pirate has beaten […]

This week Apple Computer, Inc. (Apple) released a bevy of new products including a newly designed, multi-touch mouse, monikered “Magic Mouse“.  Interestingly, Apple just recently lost a trademark dispute with Man & Machine, Inc. (Man & Machine) over the “Mighty Mouse” trademark, which happened to be the mark used for Apple’s previous mouse product introduced […]