TCAM Today

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Posts by TCAM Today


Tips & Tricks to Trademark Licensing

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As the proud owner of a trademark, you will encounter a number of situations that may prompt you or your company to consider granting a trademark license. Navigating the process of selecting a mark, conducting a trademark search and securing a trademark registration is no small feat. Now that you have accomplished these goals, it is important to make sure you are getting the most out of your investment of time, energy and money. A trademark license may be the most effective way to ensure that your trademark rights primarily benefit you and not a third party.

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Datapocalypse Now: Will The CCPA Cancel Digital Advertising?

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When people talk about data privacy, or data collection, or tracking technology, or analytics, or click farms, or bots, or data brokers, or geolocation, or mobile apps, or social media, or influencers, in the end what they’re really talking about is digital advertising. Yet while we may feel comfortable using the phrase to broadly describe any online marketing efforts, the purpose of digital advertising is quite different from the goal of a 30 second radio spot, and shares little with its Mad Men-era ancestors beyond the name.

But today, faced with a variety of new laws and regulations designed to protect consumer privacy, lawyers and their clients are obliged to take a much deeper and more nuanced dive into modern methods of digital advertising. And many are surprised at what they find.

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The Seven Secrets of Security Interests

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Well, they’re not really secrets.  But whether you’re representing the bank taking a security interest, an owner granting one, or a buyer who wants to ensure that outstanding security interests are released before a deal closes, here are a few things to keep in mind when it comes to IP security interests.

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The “Do’s” of IP Due Diligence

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So you’ve been asked to help acquire a company with an extensive IP portfolio. Great! Now it’s time for that mysterious task known as “due diligence.” Due diligence is intended to confirm all of the assets that a buyer will obtain in an acquisition and to resolve any discrepancies before the deal closes.

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Playing a game of “Guess Who”: the domain name dispute process post-GDPR

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Since the European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) went into effect in late May, its impact continues to be felt by cybersecurity researchers, investigators, law enforcement officials and – perhaps less obviously – anyone who relies on the information provided by the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers’ (ICANN) WHOIS service. This includes lawyers, like us, who routinely check WHOIS to ascertain the identity of a domain name registrant.

ICANN requires domain name registrars to collect information, such as basic contact information, from domain name registrants. Previously, absent a paid privacy shield service adopted by the registrant, the information collected was made publicly available by the registrar through the WHOIS database. Now, in an effort to avoid liability under the sweeping GDPR, registrars are refraining from publishing this information. Instead, per a temporary specification developed by ICANN, many are providing a randomized email address or web-based contact only, which can be used to contact the registrant anonymously.

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Brand Visibility via Commercial Co-Venture Agreements

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We’re seeing a lot of commercial co-ventures (CCVs) lately.  It makes sense, right?  CCVs can be a win-win for all parties involved – a company informs the public that it will donate a portion of its sales revenue to a nonprofit organization and, in return, the nonprofit allows the company to use the nonprofit’s brand name to market the product or service.  (For example:  “For every bottle of honey purchased in November 2018, Good Intentions Stores will donate 25 cents to the Fictional National Honeybee Preservation Society.”)  Such collaborations can increase the company’s sales and goodwill, and the nonprofit benefits from donations.

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How Much Use Equals “Use”? Decoding Common Specimen Refusals issued by the USPTO

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Filing a trademark example of use in the USA?  You think, piece of cake.  At this point you have jumped through the application hoops, chosen and narrowed your classes of goods and services appropriately and are ready to get the coveted “circle R.”  You jump on your website, see the mark clearly used on the first page, hit “print,” and send it to the USPTO.

Except…

Wait, how can use not be considered “use”?  As it turns out, simply displaying a mark is often not enough.  Below are some tips for decoding three common specimen rejections issued by the USPTO and finding a suitable example of use. Continue reading “How Much Use Equals “Use”? Decoding Common Specimen Refusals issued by the USPTO”

Lee v. Tam: January 18 Panel Discussion on Supreme Court Oral Argument

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On January 18, the Supreme Court will conduct oral argument in Lee v. Tam, a much-discussed case presenting a First Amendment challenge to the disparagement provision of Section 2(a) of the Lanham Act.  The Supreme Court is reviewing a Federal Circuit en banc decision that the disparagement provision is unconstitutional.  Later that day, the American University College of Law Program on Information Justice and Intellectual Property (PIJIP) will be hosting and webcasting a live panel discussion of the Supreme Court argument.

Drinker Biddle partner Jesse Witten will participate in the panel, along with other attorneys for the parties and amici.  Mr. Witten filed an amicus brief on behalf of Amanda Blackhorse and other Native American individuals who have sought cancellation of the trademark registrations of the Washington NFL team.

You are invited to attend the panel discussion or to watch the event live by webinar.  The discussion will occur from 4:15 to 5:15 p.m., Eastern, on January 18 at 4300 Nebraska Ave., NW, Washington, D.C., followed by a reception.  For more information, please visit the PIJIP website: http://www.pijip.org/tam/

Brexit & Your Trade Marks – Some Practical Questions Answered (Guest Post from UK Firm HGF)

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We found this update from the UK firm HGF ( www.hgf.com ) helpful, and thought you might, too — so we asked permission to re-post it here.  Enjoy!  P.S. Since we’re lawyers, we have to mention that HGF is not affiliated with Drinker Biddle & Reath LLP, and the views expressed in this post are those of HGF, and not those of Drinker Biddle & Reath LLP or its clients.– DBRanding® Blog Editors

You will no doubt have received many updates from IP law firms discussing the potentially new landscape for IP rights in the UK and EU in the longer term. Some are long, some short, some academic, but maybe not all practical.

The following briefing answers some of the more practical questions and concerns around managing your trade mark portfolio in light of Brexit. With change comes opportunity, and we at HGF are here to help you maximise that opportunity. We do not claim to know all that will transpire in the next few years come Brexit, no one does, but we hope these initial practical pointers below will help you along the way.

As a European firm of intellectual property specialists with locations in both the UK and mainland Europe, HGF will continue to offer a fully integrated team of professionals in the EU covering not only trade marks, but patents, designs, contentious and non-contentious IP law. Continue reading “Brexit & Your Trade Marks – Some Practical Questions Answered (Guest Post from UK Firm HGF)”