Most of my blog posts focus on how you can acquire trademark rights.  In this post, I will be discussing the opposite: situations where trademark rights are lost.  When someone loses trademark rights, it is called trademark abandonment.  Since trademarks are very valuable business assets, companies want to avoid abandonment at all costs. What Is Trademark Abandonment? … Read more

When people talk about trademark rights, they tend to think of them in binary terms.  While it is true that you either have trademark rights (through use of the trademark) or not, things are more complex than that.  Trademarks can be placed on a spectrum.  Depending where they fall on that spectrum, they may be stronger or … Read more

Trademark law protects branding and works to prevent consumer confusion as to the source of products/services.  If you own a business, you most likely already own trademark rights, regardless of whether you have registered your trademark with the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office.  But how do you acquire trademark rights?  Is there a form you … Read more

The Trademark Office may reject your application for many reasons.  Several of these have to do with the distinctiveness of your trademark.  If you have a mark that is not inherently distinctive, you may need to seek registration on the Supplemental Register.  However, there are some cases where a trademark gains “acquired distinctiveness,” also referred to … Read more