Registration of Trade-marks

Nothing to Turn Your Nose up at: Playdoh and the dawn of scent trademarks

On Friday, May 19th, Hasbro announced that the characteristic scent of their well-known Play-Doh product has been officially recognized by the United States Patent and Trademark Office as a registered trademark of the brand. This presents a major step forward in the evolution of “scent trademarks”, with Hasbro being by far the largest corporation to […]

The Washington Wrong-Skins: A Moral Victory over Tasteless Trademarks

The football field is for helmets not headdresses. In the much talked about June 18, 2014 decision in Blackhorse v Pro Football, Inc. the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) made a clear statement that culturally-insensitive trademarks would not be tolerated. The Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (TTAB) decided to cancel six federal trademark […]

Ch-ch-ch-ch-changes Coming to the Trade-Marks Act

Trade-mark law in Canada is poised for transmutation thanks to the 2014 Federal Budget of all things.