United States: Trademark

The Trademark Trial and Appeal Board recently affirmed that a specific shade of bright green (Pantone 2297C) cannot be registered as a trademark for construction tripod legs due to functionality concerns. The decision highlights the complex interplay between color marks, safety features, and competitive disadvantage in trademark law, examining how high-visibility colors serve essential purposes beyond source identification.

As entertainment lawyers, we are often asked a deceptively simple question by creatives, producers, and studios: “Can we use this trademark in our project?”

A company trying to register a trademark sometimes encounters an unusual situation: the owner of the trademark cited against its application does not object to the registration, but the United States Patent and Trademark Office still does.

A federal appeals court has reversed a lower court's dilution ruling in the decade-long trademark dispute between Jack Daniel's whiskey and VIP's "Bad Spaniels" parody dog toy. The Ninth Circuit held that Jack Daniel's failed to prove the humorous dog toy actually tarnished its famous brand, despite creating a mental association with the whiskey marks.

A federal court awarded Van Leeuwen Ice Cream nearly $24 million in a trademark infringement case against Rebel Creamery, but less than a month later, Rebel filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.

When a domain registrant incorporates a world-famous trademark into their web address, claiming to describe a legitimate service may not provide legal protection. A Ninth Circuit ruling in Smith v. Airbnb demonstrates how courts evaluate cybersquatting claims under the ACPA, examining the boundaries of nominative fair use and the limits of safe harbor defenses when famous brands are embedded in domain names.

The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office has issued special accommodations for patent and trademark applicants affected by a severe earthquake in Japan on July 28, 2026. These measures include restarting response time periods...

EPO oppositions remain one of the most powerful tools for challenging the validity of a European patent after grant. They offer a centralised and cost-effective route to attack any European patent with effect across...

Artificial intelligence has become a routine feature of proceedings under the Uniform Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy (UDRP). Both complainants and respondents now use AI to draft pleadings, identify legal arguments, generate or support evidence, build websites and business plans, and produce automated domain name valuations. Used carefully, these tools can make the UDRP more accessible and more efficient. Used carelessly, they introduce real risks around accuracy, evidential reliability, confidentiality and accountability.