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 […]

The novelty requirement is a foundational aspect of US patent law. An invention must be something new in order to be considered patentable. Patents are only granted for inventions that are truly new. Anticipation is not the only requirement for patentability. Novelty is one of several statutory requirements, including patent-eligible subject matter, novelty, obviousness, written […]

Generic terms cannot function as a trademark, and thus the phrase "generic trademark" is an oxymoron. Trademark law can be a bit confusing on the subject of generic terms. This article defines and clarifies what a generic term is in order to enable trademark owners to avoid the genericness problem in their pursuit of trademark […]

There are different kinds of patent protection under US patent law. Typically, when one thinks about "patentable subject matter", they are thinking about an invention. Patents that cover an invention (e.g., a new device, method, composition of matter, etc.) are utility patents. There are several patentability requirements for utility patents. An invention is evaluated by […]