Every year, about ten to eleven thousand trademark attorneys and service providers converge on a major city to network, exchange ideas, and review the previous years’ developments in the world of trademarks. It is an exciting time for a trademark practitioner.
I had the good fortune of attending this years’ INTA convention in Seattle, Washington. It was four days of shaking hands, meeting new colleagues, and enjoying the several social events taking place each evening. I must say, of the various specialties in law, trademark lawyers know how to have a good time.
Every INTA is different for a variety of reasons. The location makes a huge impact on how you will attend the event. This year, given the conference was on the same coast as me, I had little reason not to attend. In the past, I have made it a point to attend many panel discussions and “lunch and learns,” where we break out into small groups to discuss timely topics in trademark law such as “Protecting Well-Known Marks,” “Protecting Domain Names,” and more. The most popular panel, however, takes place on the last day of the conference and is hosted by Ted Davis and John Welch, all-stars in the world of trademarks. Mr. Welch always makes his review entertaining, with the crowd in stitches many times throughout his presentation. Some of the key takeaways from this year were:
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The number of 2(d) likelihood of confusion reversals granted by the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board was minuscule
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Perhaps the most discussed decision was the Matal v Tam case which ruled that the prohibition under section 2(a) of the Lanham Act of the federal registration of potentially disparaging trademarks and service marks violated the Free Speech Clause of the First Amendment because the viewpoint was discriminatory and therefore subject to strict scrutiny.
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The TTAB affirmed its refusal to register KLEER ADHESIVES for adhesives and mortar on the basis that the applicant’s goods were not transparent
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In a case involving Dr. Dre, or Andre Young, the TTAB dismissed his opposition to Dr. Drai, an OBGYN and Media Personality citing there was no evidence of confusion between the marks and that the goods and services were unique enough to not cause confusion in the marketplace
The above highlights are but a few of the important decisions that change the way trademark practitioners must view and evaluate trademarks going forward.
Beyond a great review of current trademark decisions and meeting wonderful colleagues, we had a great time taking in the beautiful sights of Seattle.
For more information on how to create a strong brand and ensure it is protected, please email us at [email protected] or schedule an appointment to chat today!
P.S. I cannot forget to thank the awesome team at AltLegal for hosting me this year. If you are looking for a new docketing system for your practice, I highly recommend them. Yes, full disclosure, I am a recent investor, but I have been a big fan of what they are doing long before I decided to invest.
