Nick Penzenstadler, USA Today; Brands, T-shirt makers line up to trademark coronavirus pandemic
"[Josh] Gerben [a Washington intellectual property attorney who’s been tracking daily filings] pointed out that trademark office examiners are perhaps the best equipped federal employees to keep working through the pandemic since most already telework. Trademarking is a lengthy process, he said, typically taking four months for an initial examination of an application and about eight months before a trademark is finalized.
Gerben pointed out that trademark office examiners are perhaps the best equipped federal employees to keep working through the pandemic since most already telework. Trademarking is a lengthy process, he said, typically taking four months for an initial examination of an application and about eight months before a trademark is finalized.
Examiners use simple tools such as Google to determine whether a phrase is unique. To receive the protections of exclusive national rights, a mark must be both distinct and already in commercial use by the filer. That means the dozen individuals applying for “I survived COVID-19” could be denied exclusive rights, especially if startups on Etsy or other do-it-yourself websites are selling items.
Trademark holders will have to consider the business ethics of profiting from a pandemic that’s killed thousands."
Ethically-tangled aspects of 21st century societies and cultures. In the vein of Charles Darwin’s 1859 “entangled bank” metaphor—a complex and evolving digital ecosystem of difference and dependence, where humans, technologies, ethics, law, policy, data, and information converge and diverge. Kip Currier, PhD, JD
Showing posts with label trademark examiners. Show all posts
Showing posts with label trademark examiners. Show all posts
Friday, April 10, 2020
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