Back in March of this year, I wrote about Erik Brunetti successfully arguing to the US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit that he should be approved to register the mark “Fuct” for clothing items, in part because the provision under the Lanham Act preventing him...
A trademark identifies a product's source. It helps customers differentiate your business from competitors. If you develop a good reputation, customers know they can trust products bearing your trademark. Service marks are close cousins to trademarks and serve a...
A recognizable logo allows you to advertise your business anywhere – on your storefront sign, website, business cards, employee ID cards, in-store signage, product packaging, print ads, social media accounts, and so many more places. It is a crucial part of branding,...
Certain goods containing trademarks are easier than others to counterfeit. Some of that is due to the nature of the goods themselves, but it also has to do with the manufacturing, packaging, shipping, and handling processes. By putting into effect certain preventative...
The internet makes it easier than ever for counterfeiters to promote their wares around the world. They don’t have to operate a brick-and-mortar storefront or even appear anywhere physically. Instead, they can hide behind the anonymity that the net provides....
Crystal Broughan is grateful that E. Paul Cuffe, our summer guest blogger and a summer law clerk at Marks Gray, P.A., co-authored this article. Many are familiar with the duck test. It’s a popular reasoning exercise where habitual characteristics are used to identify...
Crystal Broughan is grateful that E. Paul Cuffe, a summer law clerk at Marks Gray, P.A., co-authored this article. You may have heard of the European Union General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), and for good reason. The regulation, effective May 25, 2018, applies...
In my last post, I discussed how to pursue criminal enforcement in order to take counterfeit trademarks out of circulation and receive reimbursement. When you go this route, you put your case in the government’s hands. For this reason, many trademark owners prefer to...