TTABlog Quarterly Index: January - March 2021

The Board dismissed this petition for cancellation of Roman Atwood's registration for the mark SMILE MORE for various goods (stickers, backpacks, shirts) and for retail store service featuring clothing, denying petitioner's claim that the term fails to function as a mark.

The Federal Circuit reaffirmed that the 1907 Supreme Court decision in Kessler v. Eldred is binding precedent that controls a preclusion analysis unless and until the Supreme Court overrules it.

Intellectual property is central to almost everything we do, as businesses or individuals. As a result, intellectual property rights are important assets to most modern businesses.

Top global brands, famous content creators, and media moguls know the best protection they can secure for their products is Pryor Cashman representation.

Universal Music Group's lawsuit against DistroKid raises a critical question about AI disclosure in consumer markets: when does the use of artificial intelligence become material information that must be disclosed to consumers? The case centers on allegations that DistroKid distributed mass-generated AI music while creating the impression it was created by legitimate human artists, potentially violating existing consumer protection laws even without specific AI disclosure requirements.

On Oct. 7, 2026, at 18:00 UTC, the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) will publish every new generic top-level domain (gTLD) application proceeding in the 2026 new gTLD Round, including who applied...

The USPTO has released new templates and guidance for AIA trial proceedings, announced key appointments including a Chief AI Officer, and published updated procedures for patent applications and subject matter eligibility declarations. Director Squires delivered multiple addresses emphasizing the constitutional importance of intellectual property rights while the agency expanded its community engagement efforts and international collaboration through WIPO's Global IP Assignment Platform pilot program.

A business decides to file a trademark. Someone on the team searches for a familiar online legal-services brand, clicks the first result, and lands on a site with a similar-sounding name, a polished design, five-star reviews, and a low flat fee. The application gets filed. Months later the business learns the “service” was not who they thought it was, the filing was signed by someone with no authority to sign it, and the USPTO has suspended the application along with hundreds or thousands of others from the same shop.

The U.S. Copyright Office recently released a report on the human authorship requirement for materials to qualify for copyright protection.

Is this AI-generated, or is it real? As generative AI tools have become increasingly capable of creating realistic images, videos, and audio, they have also made it easier to impersonate real people without their consent. In response, states are increasingly adopting laws that impose civil and criminal liability for certain AI-generated content that replicates an individual’s identity, likeness, voice, or other personal attributes.

The Board dismissed this petition for cancellation of Roman Atwood's registration for the mark SMILE MORE for various goods (stickers, backpacks, shirts) and for retail store service featuring clothing, denying petitioner's claim that the term fails to function as a mark.

The economic impact of sports and fitness markets continues to surge, with franchise valuations and technological innovation reaching unprecedented levels. From wearable devices to performance analytics, intellectual property has become a strategic weapon in an industry where companies compete as aggressively as the athletes themselves. Wolf Greenfield examines the patents, trademarks, trade secrets, and licensing issues shaping this rapidly evolving landscape.

Innovation in medical technology creates enormous value, but capturing and protecting that value requires a thoughtful, multi-layered intellectual property strategy.

[Here is the 100th TTAB decision this year in a Section 2(d) appeal. So far the Board has reversed four of the refusals.] The USPTO refused to register the mark THE NOMADIC MOVEMENT...

Despite the Supreme Court's ruling in Iancu v. Brunetti, deeming the "scandalous and immoral" provision of Section 2(a) unconstitutional, your run-of-the mill obscenities...

The USPTO refused registration of the mark DARBYSHIRE for audio books, fictional works, and digital on-demand printing services, deeming the mark to be primarily merely a surname under Section 2(e)(4)

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Here are three recent appeals from Section 2(d) refusals. As previously mentioned, a former TTAB judge once told me that one can predict the outcome of a Section 2(d) case 95% of the time...

The USPTO refused to register the proposed mark KEZAR for pharmaceuticals and chemicals for use in the manufacture of pharmaceuticals...

On remand from the CAFC, the TTAB sustained these two oppositions, finding the mark EARNHARDT COLLECTION for "furniture" and "custom construction of homes" to be primarily merely a surname under Section 2(e)(4).