Identification of Goods and Services Archive

“Trenched” Trademark

By Robert H. Bejcek II | Filed in Identification of Goods and Services, International IP, Trademark

A new Xbox 360 game titled Trenched was recently released  through Microsoft’s online service, Xbox LIVE.  However, on the day of release while U.S. members of Xbox LIVE were enjoying the new game, European members were left wondering where the promised  release was.  While no immediate answer  was forthcoming, it has been revealed that a Portuguese board game designer owns a prior conflicting community trademark on the word “Trench” within the European Union.[1]  Rui Alípio Monteiro registered the trademark  in 2009 to be used in connection with “Computer games; programs for computer games.” and “Games; board games; game tables; TV console games.”

See the registration: Trenched Registration Certificate.

While trademarks in Europe can be obtained individually nation by nation, it is much more efficient to obtain a Read the remainder of this entry »

Identifying Federal Trademark Goods and Services: A Cautionary Tale

By Robert H. Bejcek II | Filed in Identification of Goods and Services, IP and Business, IP Litigation, Trademark

 

Formulating an accurate identification of goods and services is a critical element of preparing a federal trademark application.  Failure to do so, or failure to accurately restate the goods and services in Statements of Use, Declarations of Continued Use, and/or renewals can result in your registration being cancelled for fraud on the trademark Office.  In 2003 the Trademark Trial and Appeals Board (TTAB) in Medinol v. Neuro Vasx, Inc. established a very low bar for finding fraud.[i]  Later in 2009 the Federal Circuit in In re Bose Corp. raised the bar back to a more reasonable level, but the danger of cancellation remains.[ii]  Read the remainder of this entry »

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