KMK Law Intellectual Property Blog

The U.S. Supreme Court ruled today that a generic word like “booking” combined with “.com” can achieve trademark registration even if the generic word alone cannot. The opinion, authored by Justice Ruth Bader Ginsberg, rejected the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office’s nearly per se argument that “generic.com” terms are ineligible for trademark registration regardless of consumer perception evidence.  “Whether any given ‘generic.com’ term is generic, we hold, depends on whether consumers in fact perceive that term as the name of a class or, instead, as a term ...

You may be tempted this time of year to create advertising featuring The Elf on the Shelf^® (“TEOTS”) interacting in humorous ways with your product or service.  DON’T!  While your audience may engage and enjoy such a campaign, TEOTS products should not be used to promote or endorse your products or brands.  TEOTS’s 2015 Specialty Retailer Asset Guidelines state that doing so without express written consent from TEOTS may constitute intellectual property infringement.  There’s likely a more updated version of these Guidelines; nevertheless, the twenty-page .PDF makes it ...

Whether you’re an active influencer on social media or just occasionally endorse a friend/family member’s product or service, check out the easy-to-read (and apply!) Disclosures 101 for Social Media Influencers brochure and video the FTC published last week.  One way to stay out of trouble is to sufficiently disclose your relationship.  Find the document and three videos here.