Property, intangible

a blog about ownership of intellectual property rights and its licensing


TTAB

  • Uh-oh Moment

    Terra Sul Corp. a/k/a Churrascaria Boi Na Brasa v. Boi Na Braza, Inc. is one of those “uh oh” cases. It’s a fairly routine examination of a petitioner’s first use date to determine who is senior user of the mark. The “uh oh” is a theory that the mark, when transferred from the sole proprietor… Continue reading

  • It’s Only One Mark

    Sometimes the TTAB is an alternative reality. It’s happening right now as it struggles with trademark ownership disputes. In Arturo Santana Gallego v. Santana’s Grill, Inc., there was family falling out. The TTAB reached a conclusion that may be right, but in a way that is so doctrinally irrelevant that we can’t know. The cast… Continue reading

  • Well, It Was Probably Assigned

    The TTABlog reports on a case about the mark RUSSKAYA for vodka that addresses two different attacks on trademark ownership. One is a fairly standard charge of abandonment. The second is a standing attack, based on a claim that the intent to use trademark application was improperly assigned. Under Section 10(a)(1) of the Lanham Act,… Continue reading

  • Laid to Waste

    The always informative John Welch, TTABlog reporter, blogged on a pure trademark ownership contest at the TTAB in an opposition proceeding. It was a bit of a lengthy and confusing read, 41 pages, although the TTAB does bless us with generous double-spacing and Courier New. The case is a lesson in how not to manage… Continue reading

  • JOYCE Still Up for Grabs

    Awhile back I blogged on a TTAB opposition and cancellation between the Joyce Theater Foundation, Inc. and Ballet Tech Foundation, Inc. The proceeding involved a dispute over who owns the mark JOYCE, the foundation that purchased and renovated a theater named JOYCE or the foundation that ran the facility. The TTAB held that the foundation… Continue reading

  • A Less than Iron Clad Theory

    In the past few years John Welch at the TTABlog has organized a Boston road trip for the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board. They’re great events and I highly recommend that anyone nearby make it there. This past October, the TTAB held an inter partes hearing in Iron Man Magazine versus the Ironman Triathalon for… Continue reading

  • Who Owns “Joyce Theater”? – the Mark, Not the Building

    John Welch at The TTABlog® (my go-to resource for TTAB law) has blogged on my favorite kind of case, where two different entities claim to be the owner of the same mark. John summarizes the holding of the dispute (landlord wins), but I’m more interested in how the Board got there analytically. It’s the same… Continue reading

  • “Heritage” Brands Revisited

    Thanks to John Welch for pointing me to a new decision from the TTAB, Chrysler LLC v. Pimpo. Chrysler LLC opposed the registration of the mark RAMBLER for “automobiles and structural parts therefor” by Anthony S. Pimpo. RAMBLER is, of course, a model of car that was produced from 1950 to 1969 – you may… Continue reading