Deion Sanders seeks trademark protection related to various phrases By Joseph M. Hallman Deion Sanders, a Pro Football Hall of Famer, is currently wrapping up his first season as head coach of the University of Colorado Boulder football team. Head coaches at the highest level of college football regularly face challenges in year one at a new school. This often rang true for Coach Deion Sanders in his […] Continue Reading →
Taco Tuesday Trademark Battle is Over By Julie L. Spieker The Gregory Hotel, Inc. in New Jersey – the last holdout in the Taco Tuesday trademark dispute – has voluntarily surrendered its trademark registration. Last May, Taco Bell filed a petition with the US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) to cancel a trademark for Taco Tuesday that rival chain Taco John’s, and the Gregory Hotel, […] Continue Reading →
Taco Tuesday is for Everyone! By Julie L. Spieker Taco John’s has surrendered its Taco Tuesday trademark. As we reported in May, Taco Bell filed a petition with the US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) to cancel a trademark for Taco Tuesday that rival chain Taco John’s had held since 1989. Along with the petition, Taco Bell launched a nationwide public relations campaign for […] Continue Reading →
Taco Tuesday Trademark Tiff Gets Spicy By Julie L. Spieker Taco Bell recently launched an ad campaign featuring LeBron James and the censored phrase Taco T***day. In a commercial, Lebron repeatedly attempts to say the phrase “Taco Tuesday,” but the “Tuesday” is consistently bleeped out. He then helpfully explains that there’s a trademark on Taco Tuesday and therefore it cannot be used in a commercial, […] Continue Reading →
Heir to the Throne: Mariah Carey Becomes “Christmas Princess,” Loses Fantasy of Christmas “Queen” By Sarah M.D. Luth The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) has determined that Mariah Carey is officially not the Queen of Christmas. Recently, Carey’s trademark application for “Queen of Christmas” along with the related applications for “QOC” (short for Queen of Christmas) and “Princess Christmas” were rejected by the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board of the USPTO. The […] Continue Reading →
Public Service Announcement — USPTO Implements New Deadlines to Respond to Office Actions for Trademark Applications and Registrations By Gregory Lars Gunnerson As of Saturday, December 3, 2022, trademark applicants will have three months (with a possible three-month extension) to respond to an Office action issued during the examination of a trademark application at the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) instead of the current six months. A similar timeline for responding is already employed by […] Continue Reading →
The Oprah Effect: Podcasters Sued for “Oprahdemics” Brand By Nicholas J. Krob “YOU get a car! YOU get a car! YOU get a car!” Kellie Carter Jackson and Leah Wright Rigueur, however, get a lawsuit. Media giant Oprah Winfrey seemingly strayed from her benevolent ways earlier this month when her media company Harpo, Inc. filed a lawsuit against Jackson and Rigueur, as well as Roulette Productions, LLC, […] Continue Reading →
Check it Twice: TTAB Puts Attorney on “Naughty List” for Intent to Deceive USPTO By Nicholas J. Krob While it is not advisable for anyone to sign something without reading it first, the same is especially true for lawyers, who are paid to focus on the details. As demonstrated by a recent Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (TTAB) decision, inattention to such details can have costly repercussions when dealing with the United States […] Continue Reading →
Two New ex Parte Trademark Cancellation Proceedings By Julie L. Spieker On December 18, 2021, new regulations implementing the Trademark Modernization Act of 2020 (“the TMA”) will officially go into effect allowing individuals, businesses, and the USPTO to clear unused registered trademarks from the federal trademark register. New ex parte expungement and reexamination proceedings are said to provide a faster, more efficient, and less expensive alternative […] Continue Reading →
Your Friendly Reminder to Avoid the Temptation to Use USOPC Trademarks By Gregory Lars Gunnerson The race for the most gold medals during the 2020 Summer Olympics (informally “Tokyo 2020” and more formally “the Games of the XXXII Olympiad”) has now come to a close, and what a spectacle it was! Individuals, news outlets, and official Olympic sponsors are generally free to post and tweet about the games and athletes […] Continue Reading →