The Trademark Trial and Appeal Board issued a rare decision at the end of last month in the case of Weatherford/Lamb, Inc. v. C&J Energy Services, Inc. The two companies offer, among other things, oil and gas well fracturing services (explanation here). Weatherford uses the trademark FRACSURE for its services, and C&J uses FRAC-SURE. C&J… Continue Reading
Tag Archives: priority
Laboring Over Concurrent Trademark Registrations & Frozen Trademark Rights
Posted in Food, Goodwill, Infringement, Loss of Rights, TrademarksToday marks the end of the 2010 Minnesota State Fair. Sad day, but Happy Labor Day! It also marks an opportunity to talk a bit about the frequently encountered question of trademark priority, frozen trademark rights, the creation of common law trademark rights, and the frequently forgotten concurrent registration trademark tool, using my favorite frozen custard stand at the MN State Fair, as… Continue Reading
First iPhone, Now iPad: Guessing at Apple’s Trademark Clearance Strategy
Posted in Branding, Counterfeits, Dilution, Infringement, Marketing, TrademarksCan you spot the genuine iPad? Back in July, I blogged about my then-discovery that Apple did not own the federal trademark registration for iPhone. Needless to say, when I heard about Apple’s new iPad product, I just had to see if they were out in front in securing trademark rights to this name. They’re… Continue Reading









