On My Mind Blog

A non-U.S. applicant cannot use the Madrid Protocol to register a merely descriptive English word (or its foreign-language equivalent) as a trademark in the United States.  But another strategy may be available.

The Trademark Trial and Appeal Board  has decided a ”threshold legal issue” as to the registrability of a multiple color mark for product packaging.

Significant personal rights of attribution and integrity—distinct from rights under copyright—apply to some visual works of fine art. 

These are known as “moral rights” and they originated in France and Germany in the 18^th Century.  In the United States, these rights were recognized to some extent in various state and common law causes of action as well as in statutes enacted in California (in 1970) and in New York (in 1984).  In 1990, they were codified under federal law in the Visual Artists Rights Act (VARA).

So you’ve gone through the process of registering your trademark or service mark.  Now what should you do? 

Here are some guidelines on how to use your registered mark to best legal advantage.