Please join me for a live and informative 90 minute Strafford law webinar a week from tomorrow, on Wednesday August 13, at noon CST.
The topic to be covered is “Navigating Trademark Oppositions and Cancellation Proceedings at the TTAB,” and here is a link for more information.
For the discussion, I’m joined by two very capable TTAB practitioners: Linda McLeod of Kelly IP in Washington, D.C., and Jonathan Hudis of Oblon Spivak in Alexandria, Virginia.
We have written much about the right to register a trademark, here on DuetsBlog, and this is the very right determined by the USPTO’s TTAB in opposition and cancellation proceedings.
“Inter partes proceedings before the TTAB are proving to be worthwhile tools and a valuable part of a brand owner’s overall trademark enforcement and protection strategy. Despite the TTAB’s limited jurisdiction in only determining the right to register, as opposed to the right to use, and its inability to determine infringement, issue injunctive relief, or monetary awards, trademark oppositions and cancellation proceedings can be a less aggressive and cost effective venue for resolving existing and avoiding future trademark concerns between the parties.”
The TTAB venue is an important aspect of any coherent trademark enforcement program for a brand owner, the vast majority of disputes are resolved there without the need for federal district court litigation, so understanding how to navigate through these administrative proceedings is an important skill for any trademark type.
The Supreme Court will be shining a light soon on the importance of, and the impact of and circumstances under which, a TTAB decision on likelihood of confusion is to have on later federal district court trademark infringement litigation between the same parties.
The first three to post a comment may attend for free, without paying the typical registration fee — we hope you can join us!