Trademark Lawyers in the USA

A trademark can last indefinitely, but it will require some action of the part of its holder. In general, you must file the appropriate maintenance filings with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office and adopt certain business practices in order to keep your trademark alive.

The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office allow trademark applicants to conduct much of their business electronically through the Trademark Electronic Application System (TEAS). Trademark applicants can file an initial application form online, as well as submit other documents including a response to an examining attorney's Office action, a change of address, an allegation of use, and post registration maintenance documents.

Unfortunately, the rights granted by a U.S. patent or trademark can only be enforced in the United States and generally have no effect in a foreign country. Therefore, a company who wants to safeguard its intellectual property rights in other countries must take additional steps to ensure international protection.

If you have done any research into filing a trademark application, you know that there are some decisions to make. One of the most important choices is the depiction of your mark.

Dr. Pepper Snapple Group Inc. is parting ways with its oldest bottler, after a trademark dispute soured the business relationship. According to a joint statement, Dr. Pepper Snapple Group has bought all of the bottler's sales and distribution operations under the terms of a settlement agreement.

Hershey filed a trademark application seeking to protect the shape of its famous Hershey bar. The application describes it as “a configuration of a candy bar that consists of twelve equally-sized recessed rectangular panels arranged in a four panel by three panel formats with each panel having its own raised border within a large rectangle.”

The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office recently issued a report on how to make international patents more available to small businesses. The report, prepared in conjunction with the Small Business Administration, was mandated by the America Invents Act. The goal was to determine how best to defray the costs of filing, maintaining, and enforcing international patents for small businesses.

The International Intellectual Property Institute (IIPI) and United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) examined the use of specialized intellectual property courts around the globe. After reviewing the intellectual property laws and regulations of over 190 countries, the “Study on Specialized Intellectual Property Courts” concludes that although intellectual property rights (IPR) courts may vary worldwide, they all offer the distinct advantage of an informed and capable judiciary.

Sound trademarks have been in the news lately as the Canadian Intellectual Property Office recently announced that it will now allow sounds to be trademarked. The decision comes after a twenty-year legal battle with movie giant MGM, which sought to trademark the lion’s roar heard at the end of its films.

While the jury delivered a partial verdict in the copyright infringement phase of the Oracle v. Google trial, there is arguably still no clear winner. Because the jury did not decide the issue of fair use, Google is seeking a mistrial.