Cancelling a Trademark: What’s Peloton’s Spin?

By: Stacey C. Friends & Sean D. Detweiler During the recent pandemic, you've probably heard this brand everywhere: Peloton. If you don't have a Peloton bike of your own, you probably have a fitness-enthusiast friend who owns one (and tells you all about their spin class pursuits). With this stationary bike maker all the rage, …

Trademark Fees Increasing January 2, 2021

By: Stacey Friends and Sean Detweiler For the first time in three years, The USPTO is setting and adjusting Trademark and Trademark Trial and Appeal Board fees through its Final Rule, effective January 2, 2021. The goals of the fee increases, as stated by the USPTO, are to: Enhance the quality of examinations Achieve optimal examination times Invest in modernizing USPTO systems and infrastructure …

How to Prepare for Counterfeiters, Whether You Sell on Amazon.com or Not

By: Sean D. Detweiler When it comes to online marketplaces, there are numerous traps for the unwary, whether you are a startup or a multi-million dollar company. The “Better Business Bureau (BBB) has received thousands of complaints from people who have shopped for goods online and received counterfeit products instead of what they thought they ordered… …

The Trademark Company, LegalZoom & Other Online Services

By: Sean D. Detweiler Consumers continue to become increasingly more comfortable conducting business transactions of all types online, including filing trademark and patent applications, without the help of an attorney. At Morse, this has resulted in an increase of clients looking for help on a pending trademark or patent application previously initiated using an online …

Trademark Attorney Stacey Friends Joins Morse

Morse is pleased to welcome Stacey C. Friends to the Firm as a Member of the Trademark and Intellectual Property Groups. Stacey's practice will continue to encompass all aspects of brand selection, as well as trademark clearance, registration, and enforcement, both nationally and internationally for large and small companies. She also advises clients on various copyright, fair use, and licensing …

Stacey Friends Interviewed by Radio Entrepreneurs

The Radio Entrepreneurs, a show that provides advice, information and connections for entrepreneurs, service providers and established companies, interviewed Morse trademark partner Stacey Friends. Stacey discusses trademark clearance, registration, and enforcement for large and small companies, as well as the recent USPTO rule change regarding specimens of use, based on the sudden influx of trademark applications from China. …

Creating a Strong Trademark: Key Considerations

A trademark is a word, phrase, symbol, or design that is used in conjunction with, and to identify the source of, goods or services in the marketplace (e.g., brand names and logos). A service mark is a form of trademark that applies to services instead of physical products. Most people are more familiar with the …

TTAB Rules Multicolored Trademarks on Product Packaging Are Never Inherently Distinctive

As we enter into fall, the leaves on the trees will soon be multicolored. They are sure to be inherently distinctive, with each tree being a unique creation. But as patent and trademark attorney Sean Detweiler explains in his new article Multicolored Leaves More Inherently Distinctive than Multicolored Trademarks, multicolored trademarks do not get the …

Does Anyone Own the Trademark “SUPER BOWL”?

It should come as no surprise that SUPER BOWL is a federally registered trademark and that the owner is mostly the NFL (and various affiliates). But you probably did not know that there are 8 live registrations, covering such diverse goods as football helmets, cell phone covers, mouse pads, DVDs, jewelry, watches, bumper stickers, stuffed animals, balloons and …

Matal v. Tam: The Supreme Court Rejects the Prohibition on Disparaging Trademarks

By: Sean Detweiler and Bianca Sena On Monday June 19, 2017, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the U.S. Trademark Office’s denial of registration for “disparaging” trademarks under Section 2(a) of the Lanham Act violates the Free Speech Clause of the First Amendment and is therefore unconstitutional. The case, Matal v. Tam (previously known as Lee …