Last week, the country’s transition of power brought more changes to the White House than the USPTO. Director Andrei Iancu confirmed this week that he would be stepping down, a typical move for political appointees of a former administration (though the office itself skews apolitical).......

Though it’s never fun to report USPTO fee increases, what else can we expect from a year like this? Starting on January 2, 2021, government fees for new trademark filings and various other prices rise. (Details below.) TMF will expedite new filings in order to......

– a group of issues from a single serial publication (magazine, online magazine) published over a three-month period – a group of issues from a single newspaper/newsletter published over a three-month period (regardless of frequency) – a group of contributions created by the same individual......

Wondering why it’s taking so long for the Indians to come up with a new team name? Scene Magazine reached out for my take on it, from a trademark law perspective. Check out the article here....

While TMF’s ten-year celebration didn’t exactly go as planned, we enter the final stretch of 2020 with a cautious sigh of relief and exciting plans for the next decade. Close observers of TMF have known that we’ve always gone for a subtle nod to trademark......

Copyleft for Crisis Following the lead of content owners like J.K. Rowling and Zoom who have lifted certain copyright and access restrictions to help engage students and connect people during the ongoing COVID-19 crisis, now even major publishers are following suit and temporarily relaxing certain copyright rules and allowing more......

Clients with new trademark applications and renewals pending may note TMF’s detailed/persnickety questioning regarding the proof of use (specimen photos) and dates of first use in interstate commerce.  In late 2019, the USPTO issued examination guidelines to ensure that the photos and screenshots submitted by Applicants......

The US Supreme Court took on copyrights in two major cases, the first reinforcing the importance of timely federal copyright registration. It unanimously held in Fourth Estate Public Benefit Corporation v. Wall-Street.com that copyright owners must obtain a registration from the United States Copyright Office prior to filing......

As companies rely more heavily on social media for the promotion of their products and services, it’s important to note that Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) advertising rules are not just for celebrity endorsers, but rather for anyone with a “material connection” to a brand.  Such a......

With medical marijuana legal in 33 states and recreational marijuana legal in 11 of those states (including Illinois, which had over $3 million in transactions on January 1, its first day of legal sales), there is huge growth in the cannabis products market.  In turn, many......