TTABlog Article: "Decisions of the Federal Circuit and the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board on Registrability Issues July 2020 to June 2021"

Tomorrow I will be presenting a webinar, along with Ted Davis, for the New York Intellectual Property Law Association, on recent trademark cases in the courts and at the TTAB. Here (pdf) is an article I prepared, briefly summarizing the precedential decisions of the CAFC and the TTAB over the past twelve months.

The CAFC issued four precedential opinions: an important decision on the registrability of color packaging (Forney), a mundane Section 2(d) case (QuikTrip), and two involving what used to be called "standing," but is now referred to as "entitlement to a statutory cause of action" (Australian Therapeutic and Corcamore). On the TTAB side, there's a rare Section 14(3) misrepresentation of source decision (THUMS UP and LIMCA), an interesting twist on the application of Lexmark (ADVENTIST), a dilution decision (Coca-Cola), a half-dozen failure-to-function rulings (e.g., GOD BLESS THE USA), and a new surname case (tapio).

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Text Copyright John L. Welch 2021.