Trademark Law Insights

The TTAB affirmed a likelihood of confusion refusal for CLUTCH against CLUTCH OUTDOORS, finding the marks similar and the goods identical in part. The April 2026 decision also addresses what happens when your own prior registration predates the marks cited against you.

A TTAB decision from April 2026 reversed a likelihood of confusion refusal against a small café whose mark resembled an established packaged food brand. The examiner's evidence of relatedness between food products and restaurant services was found insufficient to meet the "something more" requirement.

A USPTO identification of goods refusal ended Plazer IP's trademark application after multiple failed amendments. The TTAB's March 2026 decision explains why describing how goods are made, or what benefits they provide, is not the same as identifying what those goods actually are.

Trade dress protects the appearance of a product, its packaging, or a business. Here is how the law works and how to assess whether your visual identity qualifies for protection.

A March 2026 TTAB decision affirmed specimen refusals against DEKA Research in Classes 9 and 10 of a trademark application for intradermal injection devices. Class 9 was lost because the appeal brief argued about goods that were not in the application. Class 10 was lost because the specimen's own directions contradicted the claimed goods.

A March 2026 TTAB decision required Spotlight Oral Care to disclaim MADE BY DENTISTS across five applications for dental products. The Board found the phrase immediately conveys that the goods were designed by dental professionals, a characteristic of the goods, not a source identifier.

Zuffa (UFC's parent company) cancelled a BMF trademark registration in March 2026 after the owner couldn't recall basic details of his own use at deposition and produced only a receipt for prop money as evidence. The case illustrates what use in commerce actually requires and why the Statement of Use is a serious legal declaration.

If you filed a trademark application outside the United States, you may be able to claim a US filing date that predates your actual US application. Here is how Section 44(d) priority works and what it takes to use it.

A plain-English walkthrough of every stage in a TTAB trademark opposition proceeding, from the notice of opposition through final decision and appeal.

The USPTO will refuse a mark that merely identifies a fictional character in a creative work. Getting a character registered requires showing that its name or image functions as a brand identifier, not just a reference to who's in the story.

Whether your name can function as a trademark depends on how you're using it. Federal law draws a meaningful distinction between a name that identifies who created something and one that identifies the source of a series of works.

Filing a trademark application in the wrong name can render it void from the start, with no path to correction. Here is what you need to know about trademark ownership before you file.

What to actually do after receiving a likelihood of confusion refusal from the USPTO: the realistic options, what each one involves, and how to decide which path makes sense for your situation.

Trademark conflicts do not require identical products. Learn how the USPTO evaluates whether goods and services are related enough to create a likelihood of confusion.

How do courts actually decide whether two trademarks are too similar? A plain-English walkthrough of the key legal principles.

Thinking about transferring a trademark? Here's what every business owner needs to know before signing anything.

The TRUMP sneaker trademark registered despite a specimen showing the goods were only available for pre-order. Under USPTO rules, a pre-order is not use in commerce. Any third party can file a petition to initiate re-examination. Here is how.

The difference between a descriptive mark and a suggestive one determines whether your trademark can be registered without additional proof. Courts and the TTAB have drawn that line case by case for decades. Here is what those decisions say.

How the USPTO really compares trademarks when evaluating likelihood of confusion: appearance, sound, meaning, and commercial impression explained in plain terms.

A merely descriptive office action gives you three months to respond before your application goes abandoned. The arguments available, what each requires, and what happens if the examiner maintains the refusal.

A Section 2(d) likelihood of confusion refusal does not require an identical mark or a competing product. Here is how the legal standard works and what your options are.

A descriptive trademark is not automatically dead on arrival. If the mark has been in use long enough to acquire secondary meaning, Section 2(f) offers a path to the Principal Register. Here is what that requires and when the Supplemental Register is the smarter move.

A merely descriptive refusal is not an opinion — it is a legal argument built from specific evidence. Understanding how examiners construct that record is the first step toward knowing how to challenge it.

Section 2(e)(1) bars registration of marks that immediately describe the goods or services they identify. Here is what that rule means, where it comes from, and how examining attorneys apply it.

Every day without a federal trademark application is a day someone else can file first and establish nationwide priority over your brand. Here is how the first-to-file system works and when the right time to act has already passed.

Finding out a competitor filed a trademark application for something you have been using for years is alarming, but it is not necessarily the end. Prior use creates rights, and there are formal ways to assert them. Here is what your options are.

From filing to registration, the trademark examination process takes 12 to 18 months or longer. Here is a plain-English breakdown of what is actually happening at each stage and what requires your attention along the way.

A chocolate company tried to block a competitor's DANKE mark by arguing both words mean "thank you." The TTAB dismissed the opposition. Here's what the decision means for brand owners.

Trademark, copyright, and patent are three separate bodies of law that protect three different things. They do not substitute for one another. Here is a clear breakdown of what each covers and which one your business actually needs.

Why a Google search is not a trademark clearance, what a real search actually covers, and why the gap between the two carries serious legal consequences for small business owners.

A British Virgin Islands company claimed a 2021 priority date in a U.S. trademark dispute even though its home country is not party to any trademark treaty with the United States. The TTAB said the priority claim was valid. Here is why.

The USPTO refused to register GASPER ROOFING because it allegedly sounded too much like JASPER CONTRACTORS. The TTAB reversed the refusal. Here is why one letter was enough to make a difference.

Under TMEP section 1904.02(b), the USPTO cannot reclassify goods or services in a Madrid application. The IB's classification is final. Here is what that means for filing strategy.

Ye Mystic Krewe of Gasparilla got the owner of a conflicting mark to sign a consent agreement, then watched the USPTO reject it anyway. Here is what went wrong and what a consent agreement actually needs to say.

The Madrid Protocol allows brand owners to add new country designations to an existing international registration at any time. Here is how subsequent designations work and when to use them.

The mark in an international registration cannot be amended under any circumstances. Here is why that constraint shapes when and how to file internationally.

Madrid filing is efficient and cost-effective across many markets. Direct national filing is independent and flexible. The right answer depends on a set of variables specific to your brand and markets.

For five years after international registration, if your U.S. basic mark fails, your international registration falls in every designated country simultaneously. Here is how to manage that risk.

The Madrid Protocol lets you file one application and seek trademark protection in 130+ countries. Here is what that means in practice, and what it does not mean.

When your trademark application is published in the USPTO Official Gazette, a 30-day window opens for third parties to oppose your registration. Here is what publication means, who is watching, and what to do if someone files.

A federal trademark registration can be recorded with U.S. Customs and Border Protection for $190 per class, giving CBP the authority to detain, seize, and forfeit counterfeit and infringing goods at the border before they reach U.S. consumers.