Trademark Letter of Protest Challenges: Grandma Definition’s Failure to Function

Hey, class, let’s pretend we’re filing a Letter of Protest for a phrase that fails to function! “SAY WHAAAA???!!!” Relax, sweetie, this won’t hurt, I promise. Let’s back up and talk about the Legal Basis for your Letter of Protest. The Secret Legal Basis When I first tried to file a Letter of Protest against … Read more

Failure to Function Example

Love it! Here’s a great example of a term’s failure to function without widespread use on goods. This is a big deal, because in the Merch By Amazon fight against frivolous trademarks, USPTO has typically denied Letters of Protest that did not include evidence of many competing products. But widespread use in the marketplace is … Read more

Trademark Failure to Function Example: Widespread Use (#MAGICNUMBER108)

Love it! Here’s a great example of a term’s failure to function without widespread use on goods. This is a big deal, because in the Merch By Amazon fight against questionable trademarks, USPTO has typically denied Letters of Protest that did not include evidence of many competing products. But widespread use in the marketplace is … Read more

Can ASL Be Trademarked?

It’s not uncommon for creatives to wrongly assume they invented or coined their artistic expressions. For example, a certain rock star wanted to register the ILY symbol. I am not making this up. Happily the Washington Post noticed the application and announced it to the world less than a week after it was filed. The … Read more

Can ASL Be Trademarked?

It’s not uncommon for creatives to wrongly assume they invented or coined their artistic expressions. For example, a certain rock star wanted to register this hand gesture. (I’ll bet you already know in American Sign Language it’s called “ILY” and means “I love you.”) The rocker apparently doesn’t know ASL and thought he came up … Read more

Trademark Letter of Protest Sample: Bible Verse

When filing a Letter of Protest against a trademark application to register a Bible verse or other religious quotation as a trademark, here’s what you need to know: Legal Basis: “Failure to Function – Religious Text, See TMEP 1202.04(c)” Evidence: It’s not enough to tell USPTO the verse reference. They need to SEE proof that … Read more