What to Do After Receiving a Trademark Infringement Cease and Desist Letter  If you have received a cease and desist letter asserting trademark infringement, you may be feeling uncertain about your next steps. A cease and desist letter can be intimidating, but understanding its implications and how to respond can make a significant difference for […]

Amazon now Accepts Pending Trademark Applications for its Brand Registry  Amazon is a global leader in e-commerce and is a critical platform for many small businesses. It is widely known that Amazon has established a brand registry program aimed at providing significant protection and control for brand owners over their intellectual property on the platform. […]

What are Descriptive Marks? Descriptive trademarks are marks that describe a characteristic, quality, or function of a product or service. Unlike other marks that distinguish the source of a product, a descriptive trademark identifies something inherent about the goods or services themselves. For instance, a descriptive mark such as "Cold and Creamy" for ice cream […]

Understanding Trademark Strength and Weakness Trademark strength refers to the level of distinctiveness of a sign, which can be illustrated on a spectrum from strong to weak. Fanciful marks are the strongest, while generic marks are the weakest. Descriptive marks can acquire secondary meaning or distinctiveness over time, making them registrable as trademarks. Another key […]

Understanding the Different Types of Trademark Registration The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) offers two registers for trademarks: the Principal Register and the Supplemental Register. The registers are official lists of each trademark registered with the USPTO. It is preferred to register trademarks on the Principal Register because its offers more benefits and protections. […]

Intellectual Property Rights in the Workplace There are myriad concerns that need to be addressed in the creation and operation of a business. However, we find that the majority of businesses that come to us for assistance have not given intellectual property (IP) its due consideration.  The owners and operators often have limited understanding of […]

Understanding the Presumption of Patent Validity All issued patents are presumed valid, and the burden of proving invalidity rests on the party challenging the patent. A patent shall be presumed valid, and each claim shall be presumed valid independently of other claims under 35 U.S.C. § 282. This presumption applies to all claims within a […]

A common law trademark is established through the actual use of a mark in commerce rather than by formal federal trademark registration through United States Patent and Trademark Office. In other words, common law trademark rights are established by opening a business and providing goods and services to consumers under a business name or brand […]

What is a Trademark? A trademark is a symbol, word or phrase, graphical design, sound, color, video clip, or a combination thereof that distinguishes your products or services from those offered by others. A trademark serves to uniquely identify your brand for the benefit of your customers. A trademark is a type of intellectual property […]

Intellectual property (IP) refers to intangible assets that encompass the inventions, creative works, brand assets, literary and artistic works, and valuable knowledge and know-how of businesses, entrepreneurs, inventors, and creators. In most cases, intellectual property rights are creations of the mind that are captured in a tangible form, such as creative writing on paper, a […]