The Importance of Trademark Registration: The Value of a Trademark Cease and Desist Letter (Threat Letter)

John L. Welch once again has a great synopsis of a recent Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (TTAB) decision.  It highlights another example of the importance of trademark enforcement efforts, which could include trademark cease and desist letters (also referred to as trademark notice letters or trademark threat letters), UDRP arbitration proceedings, and trademark lawsuits or trademark litigation.

In particular, the TTAB decision considered the trademark enforcement efforts, and the fact that the enforcement efforts resulted in the unauthorized parties having stopped using the trademark, as evidence of the trademark applicant’s exclusive right to use PERFECTING SERUM for skin moisturizer. 

The board concluded that the trademark, which had previously been registered on the Supplemental Register for being merely descriptive, had acquired distinctiveness (i.e. secondary meaning) so as to qualify for registration on the Principal Register.

Trademark Registration Essential to Brand Protection: Just ask Michigan State University

How important is trademark registration with the USPTO?  The recent attention given to Michigan State University’s decision to apply for a new Spartan logo with the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) exemplifies the importance of brand identity.  The MSU athletic department, in conjunction with Nike, has apparently decided to ultimately stay with the current Spartan head design logo, as noted in a recent MSU athletic department press release.  Here are some trademark registration lessons we can all learn from MSU's effort to decide and protect on a new design for its Spartan Logo.