Even as a trademark attorney, trademark disclaimers sometimes don’t make a lot of sense to me. A central premise of trademark law is: “the trademark must be considered as a whole”.

Without question, patent protection is complicated and expensive. That complexity and expense dramatically increases when patent protection is desired both in the U.S. as well as abroad. Developing the right patent filing strategy at the outset is necessary to achieve the client's goals.

For businesses expanding internationally, intellectual property often becomes an unfortunate afterthought—something “we’ll deal with later.” But as more Iowa companies get drawn in global markets, the need for a clear, intentional and effective IP strategy is more important than ever.

This should be important to every business and brand. Starting January 18, 2025, it will be more expensive and more difficult to thoroughly protect your trademarks. The summary is, you should revisit your trademark protection now, to make sure you have thoroughly protected all your trademarks. In addition, you should file, now, any marks that you plan on using in the future.

Anyone can file a trademark whether the mark is being used or not. However, a trademark will only be “Registered” after proof of use is submitted to the USPTO through what is called a “Specimen of Use”. A Specimen of Use is exactly that, an example that is submitted to the USPTO showing how the trademark is actually being used in commerce. Sounds simple, right? Well, unfortunately...

As an Intellectual Property Attorney, there are three unavoidable forces in the universe: (1) Death, (2) Taxes, and (3) Trademark Scam Letters. An unfortunate reality today is that at least one Trademark Scam Letter follows virtually every trademark filing.

As famously said by Huey Lewis: It’s Hip To Be Square! But that raises the question: Can you protect the shape of a square cheese curd? Let’s find out! There is nothing I enjoy more in my career than finding ways to meaningfully protect what is unique about a brand through the use of creative Intellectual Property (“IP”) strategies. A fun and...

As noted by Cyndi, your true colors are beautiful. As a trademark attorney, I agree, your true colors are, indeed, beautiful. They are also valuable. And anything that is valuable should be protected – otherwise it could be lost or stolen. The great news is recently there have been significant developments in trademark law and practice that allow for expanded protection for #ColorTrademarks.

Have you ever seen a product with the words “Patented” “Patent No.” Pat. No.” or similar language printed on it? If you have, you have seen an example of patent marking. The purpose of patent marking is to provide notice to the public that the product is patented.

Wait! What? There are different kinds of federal trademark registers? The answer is Yes. There are two types of federal trademark...

I’m often asked the question “What do the Trademark Symbols – “®” “TM” “SM” – mean, and when should I use them?” There is only one rule that you have to follow when it comes to the use of trademark symbols, and that is:

Filing patents in Europe has always been challenging, and unsatisfying – if not downright disheartening. That’s because there has been no way to get comprehensive patent coverage across the European Union.

Economic crisis, Jimmy Buffett and IP portfolios, here we go. I’ve spent the last two weeks talking with clients, colleagues and friends all over the world trying to wrap my head around the current situation we’re in as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. These conversations have confirmed the entire world is doing what we’re doing – staying home...