Trademark Trial and Appeal Board Manual Updated to Include New Precedents

The June 2023 update of the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board Manual of Procedure (TBMP) is now available (here). This revision includes precedential citations to legal opinions from the TTAB, the Federal Circuit, and federal courts made between March 4, 2022 and March 3, 2023.

The primary purpose of this manual is to provide stakeholders with basic information generally useful for litigating inter partes (trial) cases before the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board. The manual does not modify, amend, or serve as a substitute for any existing statutes, rules, or decisional law and is not binding upon the Board, its reviewing tribunals, the Director, or the USPTO. Cf., In re Wine Society of America Inc., 12 USPQ2d 1139 (TTAB 1989). Rather, the manual describes current practice and procedure under the applicable authority and incorporates amendments to the Trademark Act, Trademark Rules of Practice, Federal Rules, and updates in case law, where applicable, as of March 3, 2023.

Read comments and post your comment here.

TTABlogger comment: Reminder: The TBMP is not the law.

Text Copyright John L. Welch 2023.