Another update on my series of posts following the newest NHL expansion team, the Las Vegas Golden Knights, and the difficult time they’re having prosecuting their trademark applications. The applicant Black Knight Sports and Entertainment LLC (I’ll call applicant “the team”) applied to register LAS VEGAS GOLDEN KNIGHTS and VEGAS GOLDEN NIGHTS in connection with
USPTO
3:16 as a Trademark?
By Steve Baird® on
Posted in Articles, Branding, Fashion, First Amendment, Marketing, Mixed Bag of Nuts, Television, Trademarks, Truncation
Over the weekend, IPBiz reported that WWE (World Wrestling Entertainment) has filed an application to register 3:16 as a trademark for clothing items.
A Google search confirms that 3:16 has religious significance as it is a common truncation that signifies one of the most widely quoted verses from the Bible, namely, John 3:16.
Despite…
The Covfefe Kerfuffle and the Rush to Register Trending Terms
By Tucker Chambers on
While many of us are working our way through the flood of thought-provoking analysis of Matal v. Tam, I’m taking a break with some lighter fare, namely, covfefe. In case you missed it, the viral non-word “covfefe” was born out of a supposedly meaninglessly typo (perhaps a misspelling of “coverage”) in one…
On Flag Day, What Flag Can You Protect?
By Duets Guest Blogger on
Posted in First Amendment, USPTO
-Martha Engel, Attorney
Today is Flag Day, which commemorates the adoption of the Stars and Stripes as our national flag 240 years ago. Although maybe more obscure than Fourth of July or Memorial Day since it is not a federal holiday, this has always been one of my favorite American holidays. There’s just something…
Chartreuse Color Trademark Still on the Loose
By Steve Baird® on
Posted in Articles, Branding, International, Law Suits, Marketing, Non-Traditional Trademarks, Sight, Trademarks, USPTO
Back in December we wrote about a trademark infringement case (Weems v. Plews) involving claimed exclusive rights in the color chartreuse as applied to various kinds of hoses.
Since then, Plews has been busy trying to short circuit the case and have the unregistered (common law) trademark infringement claims dismissed, contending Weems did not adequately…
Patriots Granted Registrations for “Perfect Season” That Never Was
By Tucker Chambers on
Regardless of which team you were rooting for, this year’s Super Bowl (a/k/a the Big Game) was an exciting one to watch, with the Patriots making a surprising comeback in the second half, racking up 31 consecutive points to overcome the Falcons 28-3 lead. A number of records were made this year, including the…
What’s in a name? Registration obtained for “Johnny Hockey”
By Tucker Chambers on
Applying for a federal trademark registration for a name or nickname can be tricky business. For example, the registration of a mark is prohibited if it is “primarily merely a surname,” meaning that the primary significance of the mark to the public is a surname (such as “Johnson”), unless there is a showing of acquired…
The Vegas Golden Knights – Trademark Denied
By Tucker Chambers on
Another update for you on the new Las Vegas NHL team. In my previous posts on this interesting saga (here and here), I discussed the team’s unique marketing and trademark strategy leading up to the announcement last month of the team’s name–the Vegas Golden Knights–particularly the secrecy of the name among three options…
Las Vegas hockey team revealed: The Golden Knights
By Tucker Chambers on
A brief update on my post a few months ago about the new NHL team based in Las Vegas, scheduled to begin play in October 2017. As I discussed in my post, the team created some publicity by revealing only part of the team name a few months ago, the “Las Vegas [Something] Knights.” The…
A new NHL team: The Las Vegas Silver (or Desert) (or Golden) Knights
By Tucker Chambers on
Have you heard about the NHL’s newest, not-yet-fully-named hockey team, based in Las Vegas? Although the team’s inaugural season will not begin until October 2017, season tickets have already sold out. This exciting news was a big relief for the team, who faced some skepticism about market demand for a 31st NHL team, and…