Alt Legal IP News – Issue #241
Bri Van Til | May 26, 2021
Enacting the Trademark Modernization Act
For an overview of the important most important facets of the TMA, make sure to watch this past Alt Legal webinar.
The USPTO is working on implementing the changes laid out in the Trademark Modernization Act, and they want feedback. Here’s what they have so far.
Check out the notice of proposed rulemaking and send the USPTO your thoughts.
As part of the process, USPTO is hosting two roundtable discussion about the proposed rulemaking. You can sign up for them here and here.
And, of course, we’ll give you the latest news and information about the TMA and other legislation that will impact practice at this session at Alt Legal Connect.
Think Globally
To find out more about distinctions between US and international trademarks, make sure to join us for Fross Zelnick attorney Lydia Gobena’s session at Alt Legal Connect. Early-bird pricing ends this week, so sign up now and use the code “newsletter” for an extra discount.
Senators have proposed the “No Stolen Trademarks Honored in America Act,” which would limit US courts’ ability to recognize or protect trademarks confiscated by the Cuban government.
Apparently to register a trademark for a Japanese name, you have to get permission from every individual with that name regardless of spelling, even if your brand is already established.
The global economy may have dipped as a result of the pandemic, but trademark applications soared. Read Alt Legal CEO Nehal Madhani’s review of this past year in global trademarks.
Want to learn more about our recently announced international trademark docketing? Read about it here or ask your favorite Alt Legal team member for more information.
That’s What They Said
You know how sometimes you try to explain something and you just make it worse? That’s what this author said happened when a publication explained an issue of plagiarism.
Photographers are suing Instagram for “encouraging, inducing, and facilitating third parties to commit widespread copyright infringement” by embedding copyrighted images into posts.
The EFF is suing the Commission on Peace Officer Standards and Training after the organization claimed that the copyrights for their training materials regarding police use of force allow them to be withheld from the public.
Professional Concerns
How is a job as corporate counsel at Integer wonderful? Let me count the ways.
Tech company Unite Us—not to be confused with the shoelace company Untie Us—is looking for corporate counsel.
Stay Calm and apply to be marketing business and legal counsel for this meditation app company.
I don’t think this discount retailer has Big Lots of openings as commercial counsel, but they have one.
Toshiba: Committed to People, Committed to the Future, Committed to finding counsel to manage their contracts.
Holy mackerel: Big Fish Games is looking for senior counsel. I don’t know if you’d be their sole legal representative, but I’m sure you’d figure it trout pretty quickly.
I wonder if it’s a Cinch working as corporate counsel for this home warranty company.
Yo Quiero [a job as IP and contract counsel for] Taco Bell. But I hear that’s not their slogan anymore. At least it isn’t still “Run for the border…”
Have an open role on your team? Send a link to your job listing to community@altlegal.com, and we’ll publish it in our next newsletter.
Odds and Ends
What do you do when the name of your language and your ethnic group is trademarked by a company on another continent?
This webinar focuses on how to create a culture that embraces change. Check it out.
Samsung has filed an EU trademark application for Z SLIDE, expected to be the name of its rollable phone. I think they should call it a ROLLERY PHONE instead. Or THAT’S HOW I ROLL. Or ROLL, ROLL, ROLL YOUR PHONE. And this, folks, is the reason I don’t name products.
When does confusion need to take place to be considered infringement? The Eighth Circuit slept on it and issued a ruling.
After weeks of calls to waive their patent rights for COVID-19 vaccinations, big pharmaceutical companies have proposed an alternative plan to ensure vaccine distribution.
Are you passionate about IP news? Do you read this newsletter and constantly say to yourself, “Duh, Bri; I knew that!”? Fill out this proposal form, and let’s talk!