Davis and Welch: The Trademark Reporter's 2026 "Annual Review" of U.S. Trademark Cases

The Trademark Reporter has published its latest "Annual Review" of U.S. Trademark Cases: "The Seventy-Eighth Year of Administration of the Lanham Act of 1946," by Theodore H. Davis, Jr. and yours truly, John L. Welch. [download pdf here].

Ted Davis points out that "This year’s edition covers, inter alia, genericness, the post-Jack Daniel’s viability of the restrictive Rogers v. Grimaldi test for liability, the continued slide into incoherence of the nominative fair use doctrine in the Ninth Circuit, and the dark specter of consumer standing in inter partes actions before the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board." On the TTAB side, most of the interesting action took place at the CAFC, including its RAPUNZEL standing decision, now awaiting Supreme Court review. In VETEMENTS it provided new guidelines for application of the often-puzzling doctrine of foreign equivalents. At the TTAB, the Plumrose decision should not be overlooked, particularly by foreign trademark owners seeking to protect their marks based on reputation in this country. And the Board's ratification of its Chutter ruling that reckless disregard for the truth is enough to support a fraud claim will lower the bar for proving fraud, though just how much remains to be seen.

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TTABlogger comment:Once again I thank The Trademark Reporter for granting leave to provide a link to this issue, which is Copyright © 2026 the International Trademark Association and reprinted with the permission of The Trademark Reporter®, 116 TMR No. 1 (January-February 2026).

Text Copyright John L. Welch 2026.