Those who know me well know that I have a tough time sitting still for very long. In May that was no problem, as it was packed full of conferences, travel, new filings, and more. I just returned from the annual meeting of the International Trademark Association, in Boston last week, with more than 10,000 other trademark professionals from around the world. If you want to hear about some of the hot topics, listen to my
podcast here.
My travels this month also took me to Portland, Maine and Los Angeles, California. Of course, I was on the lookout for fun and creative brand names and these cities did not disappoint:
Great names and logos are everywhere, you just need to look. If you don't have a memorable and protected brand name, let's discuss!
How to report trademark scam mail to the FTC
At a conference recently, the
Commissioner for Trademarks told the audience that the best way to help the USPTO combat the proliferation of scam mail targeting trademark applicants and registrants is to report them to the
Fair Trade Commission (FTC). Such reports are apparently useful to help the government gather volume of the scams. So, before trashing the scam mail, please file a complaint with the FTC to help combat these fraudsters.
To see step-by-step how I recently filed one such complaint regarding World Patent and Trademark Register (WPTR), see my blog post at
Are your business' actions helping or hindering trademark protection?
Trademark application filings reflect pop culture:
an INFLUENCERS case study
The USPTO record of trademark filings is generally a good mirror of cultural trends. The rapid rise in applications featuring INFLUENCER(S) in the mark or the goods/services presents another case study.
2012 filings feattring INFLUENCER/INFLUENCERS: 15
2015 filings feattring INFLUENCER/INFLUENCERS: 59
2018 filings feattring INFLUENCER/INFLUENCERS: 20
The USPTO's trademark application data can be used to track all sorts of industry and other trends.
We were quite active and busy at the International Trademark Association annual meeting in Boston last week. In addition to learning, networking, and seeing colleagues from around the world, I exhibited with my friend Sonia Lakhany to launch trainMARK, an online source of trademark courses and materials.
This publication has been prepared for the general information of clients and friends of the firm. It is not intended to provide legal advice with respect to any specific matter. Under rules applicable to the professional conduct of attorneys in various jurisdictions, it may be considered advertising material.
