By David Marroso and Megan Smith ( September 21, 2018, 1:19 PM EDT) -- Historically, a trademark owner could challenge a junior user's application for a mark in the United States Patent and Trademark Office's Trademark Trial and Appeal Board and, regardless of outcome, subsequently sue de novo in federal court for damages and equitable relief. The availability of collateral relief was a powerful tool because it allowed senior users to inflict economic pain on junior users and get a free first "bite at the apple," while preserving substantive rights and access to the courts. A recent, slow-moving and relatively lightly discussed shift has upended this law and made it decidedly more risky to commence proceedings at the TTAB. Practitioners and trademark owners now must carefully decide whether to go to the TTAB at all because, once a trademark owner pulls that lever, certain rights may be irrevocably lost....
Law360 is on it, so you are, too.
A Law360 subscription puts you at the center of fast-moving legal issues, trends and developments so you can act with speed and confidence. Over 200 articles are published daily across more than 60 topics, industries, practice areas and jurisdictions.
